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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The ex-president was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.

This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."

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

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

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

They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.

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

The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.