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Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.

This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His child, Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's determination was the potential of his transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The justices found that the rioters had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the time, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.