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Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was convicted of planning a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.

This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."

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

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a detention review on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

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

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.