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Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The former head of state was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in September and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.

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

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to battle with us."

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

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of his "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also requested that he be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to kill Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.

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

He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.