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The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.

This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.

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

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

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

He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

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

They also asked that he be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The police intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.

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

At the moment, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

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

The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.