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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in September and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.

This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.

The plot was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.

The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the moment, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.