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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under confinement pending court reviews.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.

This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.

His child, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

He is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The police took action and around 1,500 people were detained.

The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.