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

The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a armed takeover in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.

This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

He is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.

The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his followers attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.