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

The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.

This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.

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

The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of his move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to kill Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

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

The justices found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.