Brazilian authorities have indicted former president Jair Bolsonaro and 36 others as part of an ongoing investigation into an alleged plot to subvert the 2022 presidential election results and keep him in power.
On Thursday, Bolsonaro was named among the 37 individuals charged by Brazil’s federal police in connection with efforts to block Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from assuming office after defeating Bolsonaro in the election. The charges stem from claims that Bolsonaro had full knowledge of a scheme to prevent Lula’s inauguration.
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The police investigation report, which spans hundreds of pages, has been submitted to Brazil’s Supreme Court. The country’s attorney general will now determine whether to uphold the charges or dismiss the case. If the indictments stand, a trial is expected to take place next year.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied any involvement in efforts to remain in power following his loss to Lula in 2022. In response to Thursday’s indictment, Bolsonaro posted on X, stating he had not yet seen the charges and would wait for his lawyer’s guidance.
“This, obviously, will go to the Attorney General’s Office. The fight begins at the Attorney General’s Office. I cannot expect anything from a team that uses creativity to denounce me,” he wrote citing an interview he had with the online Brazilian newspaper Metrópoles.
Among those indicted are several prominent figures, including former Bolsonaro aides, key politicians from his first government, and retired generals. Notable among them are Walter Braga Netto, former defence minister, and Augusto Heleno, former head of presidential security.
Also indicted is Fernando Cerimedo, a political consultant to Argentina’s right-wing President Javier Milei, and Bolsonaro’s former intelligence chief, Alexandre Ramagem, who currently serves as a congressman. Other names include Valdemar Costa-Neto, ex-congressman and chairman of Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party, and Anderson Torres, former Minister of Justice and Secretary of the Federal District. Ailton Barros, a soldier expelled from the army in 2006, and military personnel such as Colonel Anderson Lima de Moura and Colonel Carlos Giovani Delevati Pasini were also listed.
The indictment follows the recent arrest of five individuals, including a former Bolsonaro advisor, in connection with the coup investigation. Authorities claim the plot involved assassinations of Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The alleged conspirators, including military personnel with special forces training, reportedly planned to establish an “Institutional Crisis Management Office” that would control Brazil’s government.
The plot also outlined various assassination methods, including poison and explosives, as per the Supreme Court’s arrest order. Among those detained was retired General Mário Fernandes, who served as the second-highest official in the General Secretariat of the Presidency under Bolsonaro.
At an event on Thursday, President Lula expressed gratitude for his survival, stating, “I am alive, and the assassination attempts on me and Alckmin failed.”
The investigation reveals that in December 2022, Bolsonaro allegedly met with military officials and the defence minister to discuss a legal framework that would allow him to retain power.
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In response, Bolsonaro criticized Justice Alexandre de Moraes, accusing him of orchestrating the investigation, making biased arrests, and fabricating evidence. His son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, suggested that no crime had been committed in a post on X.
“As disgusting as it may be to think about killing someone, it is not a crime. And for there to be an attempt, the execution must be interrupted by some situation beyond the control of the perpetrators. Which does not appear to have happened,” he wrote.
In October 2022, Lula narrowly beat Bolsonaro in the presidential election. Bolsonaro’s supporters rejected the results and rioted in the capital Brasilia, storming government buildings on January 8, 2023.