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

The one-time leader was convicted of planning a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.

This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring.

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

His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also requested that the former president be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

The former president was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, the capital city.

The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The justices found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.