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Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The former head of state was convicted of plotting a military coup in last fall and given more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a document approving the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

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

His child, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a detention review on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was found guilty of heading 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.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, the capital city.

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

The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.