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The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a military coup in last fall and given more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.

This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.

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

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite 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 land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's decision was the chance of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 13km from his dwelling.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

He is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

He was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.

The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.