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

The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and given more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.

This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated 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 backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

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

At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.