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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.

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

His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

The former president was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, the capital city.

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

The justices found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.