The former Brazilian president arrested after being declared a flight risk
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a document approving the arrest, the judge said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of his "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.