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Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.

This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.

His child, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The plot was prevented because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, many his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, the capital city.

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

The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and return him to office.

At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.