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

The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.

This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".

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

His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brasília.

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

The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.

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

He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.