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Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a military coup in September and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.

This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His child, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's decision was the potential of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from his dwelling.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brasília.

The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the end of his sentence.

The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.