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

The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in September and given more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.

This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.

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

His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a detention review on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was convicted of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, the capital city.

The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

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

He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.