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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.

This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.

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

His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of his "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from his dwelling.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.

The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.

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

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

At the moment, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.

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