Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 others were recommended for charges including attempted coup d’état by the country’s federal police following the 2022 election that Bolsonaro lost. The police accused them of violent abolition of the Democratic state of law, coup d’état, and being part of a criminal organization. The investigation stemmed from speculation about Bolsonaro’s involvement in the election-denying movement that led to riots in Brasilia in January 2023. Protesters were allegedly seeking chaos to justify a military coup and some even had a plan to assassinate the newly inaugurated President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The police report will be presented to Brazil’s Supreme Court, and the prosecutor general’s office will decide whether to press charges against Bolsonaro and his aides. Senior members of Bolsonaro’s government, including his running mate Walter Braga Netto and national security adviser Augusto Heleno, were also named by the police. Bolsonaro, who never accepted his electoral defeat, left Brazil before Lula’s inauguration, but later surrendered his passport to police investigating his role in the capital riots where his supporters vandalized government buildings.
The investigation and potential charges add to the political turmoil in Brazil following Bolsonaro’s presidency, highlighting concerns about democratic institutions and the rule of law.
Photo credit
www.nbcnews.com
