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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The former head of state was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in last fall and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.

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

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.

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

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

His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.

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

The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

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

The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.