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

The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.

This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of his "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

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

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.

The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

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

The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.