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The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

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

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.

This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.

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

His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

He is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a detention review on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

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

They also asked that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, many his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brasília.

The police took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.