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The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The ex-president was convicted of planning a government overthrow in last fall and given more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.

This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of the former president's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also requested that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.

The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were detained.

The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

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

The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.