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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The ex-president was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in September and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.

This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.

His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of his transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from his dwelling.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that he be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. The current president was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.