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

The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in September and given more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.

This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of the former president's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.

The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.