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

The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.

This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".

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

His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from his dwelling.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

He is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also requested that he be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

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

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, many his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.