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Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in September and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.

This included trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.

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

His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also requested that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.