Jair Bolsonaro, the former president of Brazil, faces charges of attempting to stage a coup to overturn his 2022 election defeat. Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet filed these charges with Brazil's Supreme Court, implicating Bolsonaro and 33 others. This indictment marks the first time Brazilian authorities have charged the right-wing populist leader with a crime. Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the allegations as a politically motivated attack orchestrated by his adversaries.
The charges follow a two-year investigation by Brazilian federal police into Bolsonaro's role in leading an election-denying movement. The investigation, concluded in November, accused Bolsonaro and 36 others of planning the "violent overthrow of the democratic state." The riots occurred a week after leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva assumed office, having narrowly defeated Bolsonaro in the 2022 national election.
Bolsonaro is unlikely to face arrest before his trial unless Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes determines he poses a flight risk. The charging document alleges that Bolsonaro and his supporters stormed Brazil's presidential palace, Congress, and the Supreme Court in January 2023. This incident echoed the January 6, 2021 insurrection in Washington, DC, when supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol building.
"The responsibility for acts harmful to the democratic order falls upon a criminal organisation led by Jair Messias Bolsonaro, based on an authoritarian project of power," said Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet.
The supporters involved in this alleged coup plot included military personnel with special forces training or close aides to Bolsonaro. Among those accused are Bolsonaro's Liberal Party head Valdemar Costa Neto, former Defence Minister Walter Braga Netto, ex-national security adviser Augusto Heleno, and former Justice Minister Anderson Torres.
Two previous court rulings have barred Bolsonaro from running for president in 2026. Judges have prohibited him from holding public office until 2030 due to his conduct following the 2022 election. In November, Brazilian police accused five individuals of plotting to assassinate President Lula and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin before their inauguration in December 2022.
Bolsonaro, who served as Brazil's president from 2019 to 2022 and is a former army captain, continues to face significant legal challenges. Despite these serious accusations, he maintains his innocence and attributes the charges to political persecution.
