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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The former head of state was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.

This included attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.

His son, his son Flávio, who holds office 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: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.

The plot was prevented because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

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

The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.