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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was convicted of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.

This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.

His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."

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

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.

The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

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

Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, many his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.

The police intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.

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

At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.