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Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in September and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.

This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a detention review on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

The former president was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

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

The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The justices found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro 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 "absurdly excessive.

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

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