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Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The former head of state was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.

This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.

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

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

He was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.

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

The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.