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The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The ex-president was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in September and given more than over two decades in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.

This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.

His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of the former president's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, numerous his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

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

He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.