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Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The one-time leader was sentenced of planning a military coup in September and given more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".

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

His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

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

They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

He was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which included plans to murder the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.

The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and return him to office.

At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.