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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The ex-president was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.

This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.

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

His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's decision was the chance of his move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and return him to office.

At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.