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Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.

This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.

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

His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of his transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that he be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.

The police intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.