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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in September and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.

This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.

His child, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a detention review on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

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

They also requested that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

He was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, numerous his followers attacked and damaged public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

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

The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.

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

He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

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