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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The former head of state was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.

This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.

His son, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo 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 High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also asked that he be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, Brasília.

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

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

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

He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.