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Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.

This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.

His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's decision was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

He is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.

The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

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

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.