Brazil’s federal police announced Thursday that they had indicted former President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 other people on charges of attempting a military coup, accusing the far-right politician of having “full knowledge” of a plot to kill the 2022 election victor, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, multiple outlets reported.
Despite Bolsonaro repeatedly challenging the legitimacy of the election, he has denied involvement in attempts to overturn the results. Testimony and video footage presented to Brazilian law enforcement and judges in the course of investigations over the past year, however, suggest that he directly approached military officers in a bid to remain in power through force.
While most high-ranking officers allegedly warned Bolsonaro not to take his idea any further, his supporters attacked the buildings of the Supreme Court of Brazil, the National Congress of Brazil and the Planalto Presidential Palace on Jan. 8, 2023 in a failed bid to instigate a wider revolt. Lula accused Bolsonaro of provoking the unrest. Bolsonaro, who was not in Brazil at the time, condemned the rioters the following day and denied involvement.
Involvement in the Jan. 8 attacks was far from the only accusation leveled against Bolsonaro, even before the investigation began into the alleged military coup attempt. Last year, the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court barred him from running for public office until 2030 due to his attempts to undermine the legitimacy of the election and for abusing his power by using official government functions and resources to promote his campaign. Bolsonaro has also been investigated for potentially smuggling diamond jewelry into Brazil without properly declaring it, and falsifying his and others’ COVID-19 vaccination status.
In February 2024, federal police raided the properties of former government officials and ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his passport as part of the coup investigation. Multiple army and navy officers then testified that Bolsonaro had approached them after the election with a scheme to overthrow the government-in-transition.
On Tuesday, police arrested five officers who they said were involved in plans to kill Lula and his running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, as well as Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. It was Moraes who authorized the arrests and received on Thursday the police’s findings regarding Bolsonaro’s alleged involvement. The case will now be referred to Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet, who will decide whether or not to press charges.
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