Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been charged by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) for his alleged involvement in the episode that culminated in the invasion of the Brazilian government headquarters on January 8, 2023.
Bolsonaro is accused of five crimes: attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, coup d’état, armed criminal organization, qualified damage by violence and serious threat, and deterioration of protected property. If the charges are accepted by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and result in a conviction, the combined sentences could reach 43 years in prison.
According to prosecutors, the alleged conspiracy aimed to prevent Bolsonaro’s successor, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, from taking office and included a plan to poison Lula.
In addition to Bolsonaro, 33 other people are accused of participating in the coup attempt.
Bolsonaro spoke out after the charges.
On the social network X, and without presenting evidence, Bolsonaro accused the PGR of “fabricating false accusations.” He stated that the “world is watching what is happening in Brazil.”
Claiming persecution, the former president stated that Brazil has become “authoritarian.” “Every authoritarian regime, in its thirst for power, needs to fabricate internal enemies to justify persecutions, censorship, and arbitrary arrests,” he said.
Evidence against Bolsonaro was gathered mainly after the testimony of Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, a former presidential aide, who made a deal to reveal everything he knew in exchange for a short prison sentence.
In a sign of how divided Brazil remains two and a half years after Lula’s election, Bolsonaro’s critics celebrated the charges, saying the former president should be in jail, while his supporters insist he is innocent and a victim of persecution.
The focus now is on Supreme Court Minister Alexandre de Moraes, who will have to weigh the merits of the charges made by the chief prosecutor and decide whether the case should proceed to the trial phase.
Sources: Uol and BBC