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Jair Bolsonaro 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 plotting a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.

This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring.

His son, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's determination was the potential of his "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that he be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

He was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, many his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, the capital city.

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

The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the moment, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.