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Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The former head of state was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.

This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.

His son, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.

The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

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

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

The former president was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.

The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and return him to office.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.