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Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a military coup in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.

This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.

His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of his move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a detention review on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

He was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.

The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.

The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were detained.

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

At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.