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The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The ex-president was sentenced of planning a military coup in last fall and given more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.

This included attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".

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

His offspring, his son Flávio, who serves 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: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."

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

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of the former president's transfer to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also asked that he be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and return him to office.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.