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

The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in September and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest 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" came to light.

This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.

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

His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of the former president's move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.

The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the backing 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, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were detained.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.