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

The ex-president was convicted of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.

This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.

His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

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

He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his health 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 move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.

The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

He was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brasília.

The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.