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Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.

This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.

His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also requested that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.