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Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The former head of state was convicted of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under confinement pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his son.

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of his "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that he be permitted to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

He was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.

The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.

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

He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.