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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was sentenced of planning a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.

This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.

His son, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."

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

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of his "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was convicted of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, the capital city.

The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and return him to office.

At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.