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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was convicted of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.

This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".

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

His son, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last 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 petitioned that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.