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

The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.

This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's determination was the potential of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.

The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

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

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

Background on Conviction

The former president was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.

The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

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

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.