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Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.

This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".

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

His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.

The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

He is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

He was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

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

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.