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

The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.

This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.

His son, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

He is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

He was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, many his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.

The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.