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

The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

He was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, many his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, the capital city.

The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

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

The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.