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Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of his "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

He was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many his followers attacked and damaged public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.

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

The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two 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 running in the 2026 presidential election.