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

The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.

This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.

His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also requested that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were detained.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.