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

The ex-president was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.

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

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.

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

The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

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 petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, Brasília.

The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

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

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

The one-time head of state called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.