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

The ex-president was convicted of planning a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.

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

This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's decision was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

He was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, the capital city.

The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.