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

The former head of state was convicted of planning a military coup in September and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.

This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

He was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.

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

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.

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

He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.