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The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.

This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring.

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

His son wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's decision was the potential of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.

The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around 8 miles from his dwelling.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that the former president be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.

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

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.

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

He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.

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