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

The ex-president was convicted of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.

This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.

His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's decision was the chance of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

The former president was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brasília.

The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.