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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.

This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.

His child, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's decision was the potential of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will have a detention review on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that he be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

He was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.