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Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in September and given more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.

This encompassed attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his son.

His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of his "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.

The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from his dwelling.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

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 Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

The former president was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.

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

The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and return him to office.

At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.