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The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.

This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's decision was the potential of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to kill Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, the capital city.

The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.