The prosecutor-general of Brazil has officially accused former President Jair Bolsonaro of trying to stage a coup in order to remain in power after he lost the 2022 election.
According to Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet, Bolsonaro and 33 others were involved in a scheme to defy the election results and stay in office instead of accepting defeat to current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
In a report filed last November by the Federal Police, consisting of 884 pages, details of the plan were presented to Gonet. It is claimed that the scheme included tactics like spreading mistrust towards the electoral system among the public, creating a decree to make the plan seem legal, pressuring senior military officials to support the scheme, and provoking a riot in the country’s capital city.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro arrives for a luncheon with senators from his support base, at the National Congress building in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
The Supreme Court will analyze the charges and, if accepted, Bolsonaro will stand trial.
The far-right leader denies wrongdoing. “I have no concerns about the accusations, zero,” Bolsonaro told journalists earlier on Tuesday during a visit to the Senate in Brasilia.
“Have you seen the coup decree, by any chance? You haven’t. Neither have I,” he added.
A lawyer for Bolsonaro did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
