Bolsonaro, generals indicted in coup d’etat, assassination plot

Brasilia: Brazil’s federal police have recommended criminal charges against former president Jair Bolsonaro after probing an alleged coup attempt following his 2022 election loss, the first time authorities have directly linked the right-winger to attempts to keep his successor from assuming power.

Police said charges were warranted against a total of 37 people, including high-ranking military members who served in Bolsonaro’s government, for plotting a coup and committing crimes against democracy.

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, has been accused over an alleged coup plot to maintain power, after his defeat by President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva. Credit: Bloomberg

The formal indictment came at the conclusion of an investigation into the US Capitol riot-style insurrection attempt that took place on January 8, 2023, when thousands of the former leader’s supporters stormed the country’s capital, taking over the Congress and the Supreme Court after Bolsonaro’s narrow loss to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the October 2022 election.

Authorities have also determined that Bolsonaro had full knowledge of a plot to assassinate Lula, vice president Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes after the election, CNN Brasil and other outlets reported, citing unidentified officials.

The recommendation will be sent to the prosecutor general’s office to decide whether to file charges, request additional information or close the case. It threatens to deepen Bolsonaro’s legal woes.

The former president told local news outlet Metropoles he needed to wait and see what information was included in the police filing, and that his real legal battle would begin at the prosecutor general’s office. He also renewed his criticism of Moraes, who he has accused of overstepping legal bounds. Bolsonaro has previously denied wrongdoing related to the riots.

Federal police previously recommended charges against Bolsonaro in another case involving the alleged illegal sale of gifts received from the governments of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Charges were also recommended against him in an inquiry into falsified vaccination records. The former president has also denied wrongdoing in those cases.

Protesters, supporters of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro, storm the Congress building in Brasilia on January 8, 2023, a week after his successor Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, took office.Credit: AP

Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet intends to unite the three recommendations into a single complaint, according to a person familiar with the situation who requested anonymity to discuss internal matters. By combining the three investigations, the complaint would be stronger, the person said. There is no deadline for the complaint to be filed.

Last year, a congressional committee accused Bolsonaro of serving as the “author” of the attempt to overturn Lula’s victory, and reported that its investigation had found that top members of his government and senior military officers had contributed to the riots.

Multiple retired generals who served in Bolsonaro’s government, including former defence minister Walter Braga Netto and Augusto Heleno, are among the officials included on the list of 37. So is Valdemar Costa Neto, the head of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party. Spokespersons for Braga Netto, Heleno and Costa Neto did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In June 2023, the country’s electoral court barred Bolsonaro from seeking or holding public office until 2030 over his spreading of false claims about Brazil’s voting system during the election. Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing in that instance as well.

Federal police on Tuesday arrested five people, mainly military personnel, for allegedly plotting to kill Lula, Alckmin and Moraes in 2022, after the leftist leader’s election victory.

The suspects intended to prevent Lula from taking office and monitored their targets’ movements, considering methods such as poison, chemicals and explosives to carry out the murders. The conspirators began tracking their apparent targets after a meeting at the home of Braga Netto, who was Bolsonaro’s vice presidential running mate that year, police said after the arrests.

Brazilian authorities have also probed explosions that took place outside the Supreme Court last week and killed one man.

Bloomberg