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Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The ex-president was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.

This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".

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

His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of his transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

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

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

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, the capital city.

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

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

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

The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.