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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.

His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last 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 vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of his move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also asked that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

He was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, 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 stopped because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

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

The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.