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

The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.

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

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's decision was the potential of his move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

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

Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was convicted of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.

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

The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control 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 prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the next presidential race.