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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.

This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to battle with us."

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

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of his "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.

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

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

The former president was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, the capital city.

The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

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

The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.