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

The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.

This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".

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

His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's determination was the potential of his move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a detention review on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that he be permitted to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.