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

The one-time leader was sentenced of planning a military coup in last fall and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.

This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

The former president was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, many his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brasília.

The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.