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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under confinement pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.

This included attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. His successor was took office without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, many his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.

The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.

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

He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.