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The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.

This included attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.

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

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

The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.

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

The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The justices found that the protesters had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

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