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The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The former head of state was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.

This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a document approving the arrest, the judge said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.

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

His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a detention review on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

He was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.

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

He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.