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Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.

This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.

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

His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to fight 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 nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.

The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

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