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

The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.

This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."

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

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's determination was the chance of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

He is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to kill Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, many his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.

The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited 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, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

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

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