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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.

This included trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.

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

His son wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

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

Recent Judicial Appeals

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

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.

The plot was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, Brasília.

The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.