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

The former head of state was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.

This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.

The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also requested that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

The former president was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

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

The justices found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.