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Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The former head of state was sentenced of planning a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.

This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that he be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, the capital city.

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

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

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.

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