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

The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.

This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".

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

His child, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of his transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

He was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.

The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and return him to office.

At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The former president called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.