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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The former head of state was convicted of plotting a military coup in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.

This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his child.

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

His son wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of his transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

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

They also asked that he be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to kill Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, many his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, the capital city.

The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

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

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.