RIO DE JANEIRO — Police in Brazil arrested former President Jair Bolsonaro on Saturday amid fears that he might escape house arrest to avoid serving a 27-year prison sentence for a failed coup plot, according to a Brazilian court order.

Bolsonaro, a right-wing politician who led Brazil from 2019 to 2022, was sentenced in September after being convicted of overseeing a plan to cling to power after losing his bid for reelection.

Brazilian authorities were closely watching Bolsonaro, who had been wearing an ankle monitor since August at his home in Brasília, the capital. Alexandre de Moraes, the Supreme Court justice overseeing the case, had deemed him a flight risk.

Bolsonaro had not begun serving his sentence because the court, until recently, was reviewing his appeals.

He was detained

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