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

The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.

This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.

His child, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's decision was the chance of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, causing him to impose a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also requested that he be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, Brasília.

The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

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

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.

The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.