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Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The former head of state was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step 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 potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. The current president was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.