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Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.

This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.

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

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

He is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a detention review on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

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

The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.