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Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a military coup in last fall and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.

This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.

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

His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's decision was the chance of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

He was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.

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

The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.