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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in September and given more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.

This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.

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

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

His son wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of the former president's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also asked that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

The former president was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, Brasília.

The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

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

The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.