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Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The former head of state was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in last fall and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.

This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of the former president's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

He was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without issue on January 1st, 2023.

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

The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and return him to office.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the next presidential race.