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Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.

The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

He was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, the capital city.

The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.