Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 others were indicted by federal police on Thursday on charges of attempting a coup to retain office after losing the 2022 election.
The Associated Press reported that the findings will be delivered to Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday, where they will be sent to Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet to either end the investigation or agree to the charges and put Bolsonaro on trial. .
Bolsonaro, who leans politically to the right, has denied claims he sought to stay in office in 2022 after losing to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
After losing the election, Bolsonaro launched an aggressive campaign against the Brazilian government, claiming the election was stolen.
Bolsonaro banned from holding office for 8 years
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 others were indicted by federal police on Thursday. (Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images)
A week after Lula took power, Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed and threw trash at the South American country’s Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace buildings. Hundreds of them are expected to be tried.
Since his defeat, Bolsonaro has faced several legal threats.
In June 2023, election judges voted to ban the former leader from public leadership for eight years after attacking public trust in the country’s democratic institutions. The court also called Bolsonaro a threat to political tension.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro charged by federal police in undeclared diamond case: AP
A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has ordered federal police to question former President Jair Bolsonaro over attacks by his supporters on government buildings after the inauguration of his socialist successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. (AP Photo/Eraldo Perez)
This decision was pronounced by four out of seven votes of the Supreme Electoral Court.
In July, Bolsonaro was indicted by Brazilian federal police on charges of money laundering and criminal conspiracy in connection with diamonds allegedly found in Saudi Arabia while he was in office.
It was the second formal charge of criminal wrongdoing against Bolsonaro, who was also charged in March with falsifying his and others’ COVID-19 vaccine records.
The former president denies any involvement in the allegations.
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On Tuesday, Brazilian police arrested four soldiers and a federal police officer accused of plotting a coup that included plans to overthrow the government after 2022 elections, and allegedly targeted Lula and other top officials. Officials were killed.
Fox News Digital’s Timothy HJ Nerozzi and Kyle Schmidbauer contributed to this report with The Associated Press.
