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Bolsonaro surrenders passport as Brazil probes “coup”
Brazilian police carried out dozens of raids targeting suspects accused of orchestrating an invasion of the seat of power last year.
FILE PHOTO: Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro leaves the Federal Police headquarters after testifying about the January 8 riots, in Brasilia, Brazil, October 18, 2023. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino/File Photo
Brazilian federal authorities reported conducting multiple search and seizure operations and executing four arrest warrants to target a “criminal organization involved in the attempted coup.” This refers to the intrusion by Bolsonaro supporters into the presidential palace, Congress, and Supreme Court on January 8, 2023.
Several suspects surrender their passports
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorized the raids, along with an order for several suspects, including Bolsonaro, to be suspended from public duties and surrender their passports within 24 hours. the former leader would comply with the order.
The operations included the targeting of four army generals, including Bolsonaro’s former defence minister and vice presidential candidate Walter Braga Netto, as well as one of the ex-president’s closest advisers, Augusto Heleno.
The unrest occurred a week after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s inauguration, following a narrow election win in October 2022 over Bolsonaro, who served as president from 2019 to 2022.
Tens of thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings, vandalizing premises and demanding the military’s intervention to remove Lula, alleging, without evidence, electoral fraud.
The suspects claimed electoral fraud
The police stated that the suspected coup organizers propagated a story of alleged fraud in the 2022 elections, with a false account of vulnerabilities in the electronic voting system. They further alleged actions to finance the overthrow of the democratic rule of law through a coup d’etat, with support from members of the military with knowledge of special forces tactics.
Bolsonaro says he is innocent
Despite being in the United States during the riots, Bolsonaro, who faces numerous investigations into corruption and abuse of office, has consistently denied responsibility.
In June, electoral authorities barred him from running for public office for eight years over unproven fraud allegations against Brazil’s voting system. Bolsonaro’s inner circle is also implicated in an investigation into illegal spying on perceived opponents and other political figures, as evidenced by a police raid on the Bolsonaros’ vacation home in Angra dos Reis last month, targeting the former president’s son, Carlos, a Rio de Janeiro councillor.
