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

The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.

This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

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

The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that he be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

He was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which included plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, Brasília.

The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.