Brazil's former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro was fully aware of and actively participated in a coup plot to remain in office after his defeat in the 2022 election, according to a Federal Police report unsealed Tuesday. Federal Police last Thursday formally accused Bolsonaro and 36 other people of attempting a coup. They sent their 884-page report to the Supreme Court, which lifted the seal. The unsealed document provides a first glimpse of several testimonies that describe the former president as one of the key leaders of the plot, reports the AP. "The evidence ... shows unequivocally that (Bolsonaro) planned, acted, and was directly and effectively aware of the actions of the criminal organization aiming to launch a coup d'etat and eliminate the democratic rule of law," the document said. Further, "Bolsonaro had full awareness and active participation."
Bolsonaro, who had repeatedly alleged without evidence that the country's electronic voting system was prone to fraud, called a meeting in December 2022, during which he presented a draft decree to the commanders of the three divisions of the armed forces. The decree would have launched an investigation into suspicions of fraud and crimes related to the October 2022 vote, and suspended the nation's electoral court. The navy's commander stood ready to comply, but those from the army and air force objected to any plan that prevented the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the report said. Bolsonaro never signed the decree to set the final stage of the alleged plan into action.
Federal Police say Bolsonaro and his allies expected to launch the coup d'etat on Dec. 15, 2022. The document also said that top military personnel who stood in the way became targets of online attacks by a pro-Bolsonaro digital militia group. Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied awareness of any plot to keep him in power. "No one is going to do a coup with a reserve general and half a dozen other officers. What is being said is absurd," Bolsonaro said Monday. "The word 'coup' has never been in my dictionary."
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The top court has passed the report to Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet, who will decide whether to formally charge Bolsonaro and put him on trial, or toss the investigation. The former president is accused of three crimes: violent elimination of the rule of law, staging a coup d'etat, and forming a criminal organization. Bolsonaro could face at least 11 years in prison if convicted. (More Jair Bolsonaro stories.)
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