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The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The former head of state was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.

This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.

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

His child, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil 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 judge's decision was the potential of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will experience a detention review on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, Brasília.

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

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

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.