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Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The ex-president was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.

This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

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 settee? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of his "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

He was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.