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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The former head of state was convicted of planning a armed takeover in last fall and given more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.

This included attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.

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

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

His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a detention review on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.