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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 found guilty of planning a military coup in September and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.

This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's decision was the potential of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.

The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

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

They also asked that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, many his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.