Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, along with some of his closest allies, has been officially charged with allegedly plotting a coup following his loss in the 2022 presidential election.
Indictments and Allegations
Bolsonaro’s vice-presidential running mate, Walter Braga Netto, and 35 others have been indicted by federal police on charges including attempted violent abolition of democratic rule, coup d’état, and criminal organization.
This development follows a nearly two-year investigation into whether Bolsonaro incited a failed coup by claiming the election was fraudulent.
Response from Bolsonaro
In a post on X, Bolsonaro declared his intention to legally “fight” the allegations, accusing investigators of being “creative” and doing “everything that the law does not say.”
Police stated in a press release that their investigation “found the existence of a criminal organization 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 37 individuals, to the court. The country’s top prosecutor will now determine whether to press charges.
Key Figures Implicated
Among those accused of participating in the alleged coup conspiracy are Bolsonaro’s former intelligence chief Alexandre Ramagem, as well as former ministers Anderson Torres and Augusto Heleno.
This indictment represents a significant setback for Bolsonaro’s hard-right supporters, who had hoped to overturn a ban preventing him from running for office in time for the 2026 presidential election.
Recent Developments
Earlier this week, Brazilian federal police arrested five individuals suspected of plotting to assassinate then-president-elect Lula just days before his inauguration.
In recent months, federal police have also formally accused Bolsonaro of tampering with his Covid-19 vaccination records while in office and benefiting from an illegal scheme to sell jewelry gifted to his government by Saudi Arabia.
Bolsonaro was barred from running for office for eight years after being accused of undermining Brazilian democracy by falsely claiming that the electronic voting system used in the October 2022 election was susceptible to hacking and fraud.
The contentious election was narrowly won by left-wing candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro never publicly conceded his defeat and left for the US two days before Lula’s inauguration as president.
His supporters, who rejected the election results, stormed Brazil’s Congress, the presidential palace, and the Supreme Court building on January 8, 2023, leading to parts of the buildings being ransacked and 1,500 rioters being arrested.
In his X post, Bolsonaro also mentioned that he would await the details of the indictment.
“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,” he added.
