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

The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in September and given more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.

This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a document approving 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 electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration 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 the weekend.

The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.

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

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

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

He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.