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Jair Bolsonaro accused along with several former officials of involvement in plot following his loss in 2022 election.
Brazil’s federal police have named former President Jair Bolsonaro as one of 37 people formally accused of involvement in a coup attempt.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the police also accused several former Bolsonaro administration officials of involvement, including former defence minister Walter Braga Netto, former national security adviser Augusto Heleno, and former justice minister Anderson Torres. The head of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party, Valdemar Costa Neto, was also accused.
The allegation involves a coup conspiracy after the far-right Bolsonaro lost the 2022 presidential election to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
A week after President Lula took office, in January 2023, Bolsonaro’s supporters rioted in the capital Brasilia. Some protesters at the time said they wanted to create the conditions for a military coup, and there have long been questions about Bolsonaro’s involvement in instigating the riots.
Brazilian police say that some of the accused planned to assassinate Lula before he took office. Speaking to Reuters before Bolsonaro was formally accused of involvement in the coup attempt, one police source said that the former president was aware of the alleged plan to kill Lula.
Bolsonaro denies any wrongdoing.
More to come…
