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Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.

This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also asked that he be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

He was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, many his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the next presidential race.