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The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a military coup in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.

This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.

His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that he be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

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

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, many his followers attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The judges found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.