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The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a military coup in September and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.

This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.

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

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

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

He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Global Responses

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

Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a detention review on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on 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 permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

He was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, Brasília.

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

The justices found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.