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Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in September and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.

This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His child, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.

The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.