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

The former head of state was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.

This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.

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

His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of the former president's move to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that he be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

He was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. His successor was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his followers attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.