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Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in September and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.

This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.

His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also requested that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement stepped in and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The justices found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.

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

He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - 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 intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.