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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.

This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

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

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

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

He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.

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

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

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

They also asked that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, many his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

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

The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.