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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The former head of state was found guilty of planning a military coup in September and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.

This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers 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 Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

He is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also asked that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

He was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, 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 prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.

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

The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.