Bolsonaro Formally Accused by Brazilian Police in Alleged Coup Plot

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and several of his closest associates have been formally accused of allegedly orchestrating a coup plot following his defeat in the 2022 presidential election. Bolsonaro’s vice-presidential candidate, Walter Braga Netto, along with 35 other individuals, have also been indicted by federal police on charges of attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, coup d’état, and criminal organization. This development follows a nearly two-year investigation into whether Bolsonaro incited a failed coup after asserting that the election was fraudulent. In a post on X, Bolsonaro declared his intention to mount a legal “fight” against the claims, further accusing investigators of being “creative” and doing “everything that the law does not say.” In a statement, police indicated that their probe “found the existence of a criminal organisation that acted in a coordinated manner, in 2022, in an attempt to keep the then president of the republic in power.” The police have forwarded the report, which includes the indictment of the 37 people, to the court. The country’s top prosecutor will now determine whether to press formal charges. Among those accused of participating in a criminal conspiracy to stage a coup are Bolsonaro’s former spy chief, Alexandre Ramagem, as well as former ministers Anderson Torres and Augusto Heleno. The indictment represents a fresh blow for Bolsonaro’s hard-right supporters, who had hoped to overturn a ban preventing him from holding office in time for him to run for president in 2026. Earlier this week, federal police in Brazil arrested five individuals suspected of plotting to assassinate then President-elect Lula in the days before he assumed office. Over the past few months, federal police have also formally accused Bolsonaro of tampering with his Covid-19 vaccination cards while in office and of benefiting from an illegal scheme to sell jewelry gifted to his government by Saudi Arabia. Bolsonaro was banned from seeking public office for eight years after being accused of undermining Brazilian democracy by falsely claiming that electronic ballots used in the October 2022 poll were vulnerable to hacking and fraud. The intensely contested election was won by an extremely narrow margin by left-winger Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Mr. Bolsonaro never publicly acknowledged his defeat and departed Brazil for the United States two days prior to Lula’s presidential inauguration. His supporters, who refused to accept the election outcome, stormed Brazil’s Congress, the presidential palace, and the building housing the Supreme Court on January 8, 2023. Portions of the buildings were ransacked, and police arrested 1,500 of the rioters. In his X post, Bolsonaro also stated that he would await the details of the indictment. He added, “I will wait for the lawyer. This, obviously, will go to the attorney general’s office. It is at the PGR [Prosecutor General of the Republic] that the fight begins.”