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The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.

This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a document approving the detention, the judge said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."

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

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.

The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

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

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

The justices found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

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

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.