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The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a military coup in last fall and given more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.

This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from his dwelling.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

He was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. The current president was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, Brasília.

The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.