The former Brazilian president arrested after being declared a risk of fleeing

The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.

This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.

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

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.

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

The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

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

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

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.