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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.

This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.

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

Worldwide Consequences

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that the former president be permitted to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

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

The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.