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

The one-time leader was convicted of planning a military coup in September and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.

This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.

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

His offspring, 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 evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's determination was the potential of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a detention review on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. The current president was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, Brasília.

The police intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The justices found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

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

He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the next presidential race.