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Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a military coup in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.

This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a document approving the custody, the judge said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.

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

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

He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

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

They also requested that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

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