The former Brazilian president arrested after being deemed a escape threat

Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The former head of state was sentenced of planning a military coup in last fall and given more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.

This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of the former president's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.

The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.

The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The judges found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.