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The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.

This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.

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

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of his move to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

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

They also asked that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.

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

The judges found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.