Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 others were indicted by federal police Thursday on charges of attempting a coup to keep him in office after being defeated in the 2022 elections.
The Associated Press reported that the findings would be delivered to Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday, where they will be referred to Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet to either throw out the investigation or agree with the charges and put Bolsonaro on trial.
Bolsonaro, who leans right politically, has denied claims that he tried to remain in office after his defeat in 2022 to left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
After losing the election, Bolsonaro launched an aggressive campaign against the Brazilian government that claimed the election was stolen.
BOLSONARO BANNED FROM RUNNING FOR OFFICE FOR 8 YEARS
One week after Lula took office, Bolsonaro’s supporters raided and trashed the buildings of the South American country’s Supreme Court, Congress and the presidential palace. Hundreds of them are expected to stand trial.
Since his defeat, Bolsonaro has faced a series of legal threats.
In June 2023, electoral judges voted to ban the former leader from public leadership for eight years after determining he attacked the public’s confidence in the country’s democratic institutions. The court also deemed Bolsonaro a threat to political tensions.
FORMER BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT JAIR BOLSONARO INDICTED BY FEDERAL POLICE IN UNDECLARED DIAMONDS CASE: AP
The decision was made with four out of seven votes by the Superior Electoral Court.
In July, Bolsonaro was indicted by Brazil’s federal police for alleged money laundering and criminal association in connection with diamonds he allegedly received from Saudi Arabia while he was in office.
It was the second formal accusation of criminal wrongdoing against Bolsonaro, having also been charged in March with forging his and others’ COVID-19 vaccine records.
The former president denies any involvement in either allegation.
On Tuesday, Brazilian police arrested four military and a federal police officer accused of plotting a coup that included plans to overthrow the government following the 2022 election, and allegedly kill Lula and other top officials.
Fox News Digital’s Timothy H.J. Nerozzi and Kyle Schmidbauer, along with The Associated Press, contributed to this report.
