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Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The ex-president was sentenced of planning a military coup in September and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.

This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."

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

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's determination was the chance of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.

The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

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

He is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was determined responsible of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

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

The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.