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Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The former head of state was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.

This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".

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

His offspring, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, causing him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.

The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.