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Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in September and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.

This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a document approving the detention, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His son, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or see it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of his move to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a detention review on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also requested that the former president be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

He was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.

The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brasília.

The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

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

The former president called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.