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The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.

This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a document approving the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His child, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

He was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to murder the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. The current president was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, many his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.

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

He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.