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The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.

This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

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

He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, Brasília.

The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.