The Attorney General of Brazil filed a complaint against former President Jair Bolsonaro for an alleged conspiracy to attempt a coup against the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, after losing the 2022 elections, official sources indicated. The far-right leader was accused of "leading" the coup plot in a document sent by the Attorney General to the Supreme Court, which also charged 33 others in his circle.
The Public Ministry indicated that the 34 accused face charges of "attempted violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law," "armed organization for criminal purposes," and "coup d'état," among other crimes. The complaint is based on an extensive police investigation that confirmed the existence of a plot aimed at keeping Bolsonaro in power and preventing Lula's inauguration, which ultimately took place on January 1, 2023.
According to the complaint, Bolsonaro and former minister and reserve general Walter Braga Netto were the "leaders" of the alleged conspiracy. The Federal Police corroborated that Bolsonaro and 39 other people, including Braga Netto, a retired general and former minister of the Presidency and Defense in Bolsonaro's government, were involved in the coup plot.
During the investigation, drafts of decrees to declare a "state of siege," annul the results of the 2022 elections, and intervene in the Electoral Justice were found. Witnesses revealed that Bolsonaro reviewed and modified the document that would carry out the coup and even had "full knowledge" of a plan devised by dissident military personnel to attempt to poison Lula and other Brazilian authorities.
If the complaint is accepted, the case will be judged by the First Chamber of the Supreme Court, composed of progressive-leaning magistrates, including Alexandre de Moraes. Bolsonaro is also facing investigations for alleged misappropriation of jewelry, fraud in Covid-19 vaccination certificates, and delegitimization of democratic institutions, which has led to his disqualification from electoral office until 2030.
