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

The former head of state was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in September and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.

This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that he be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to kill Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, the capital city.

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

The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.