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Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was convicted of plotting a military coup in September and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.

This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.

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

His child, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

He was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.

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

The justices found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.