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Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a military coup in September and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.

This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.

His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around 8 miles from his dwelling.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the end of his sentence.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.