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

The former head of state was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and given more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.

This included trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.

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

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

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

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also requested that he be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, Brasília.

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

The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.