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The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The ex-president was found guilty of planning a military coup in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.

This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

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

His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.

The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that the former president be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, many his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.