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

The ex-president was convicted of planning a government overthrow in last fall and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.

This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.

His child, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

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

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brasília.

The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

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

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