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

The former head of state was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in September and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.

This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.

His son, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to murder Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

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

But a following week, on 8 January, many his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

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

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.