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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.

This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.

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

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's decision was the chance of his "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.

The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that he be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.

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

The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.