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The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.

This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.

His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of the former president's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was convicted of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.

The plot was thwarted 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 January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The judges found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.

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

He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.