Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has had his passport confiscated amid a police investigation into his role into an “attempted coup” in 2023.
The crackdown on Thursday saw police accuse Bolsonaro of plotting to overturn election results, pressuring military officials to join a coup attempt and conspiring to imprison a Supreme Court justice.
The accusations and raids follow an investigation into the ex-president and his close aides’ planning of a military coup after he was ousted in October 2022’s election by the incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula).
Following his defeat, police said, Bolsonaro and his inner circle publicly spread doubts over Brazil’s electoral system – which his supporters took as a call to action.
The raids follow an investigation into the ex-president's planning of a military coup in 2022
Reuters
Bolsonaro allegedly sought military assistance for a potential coup, but this fell through, leading his followers to storm Brazilian government buildings on January 8, 2023.
The storming of the Supreme Court, presidential palace and Congress by members of the public was likened to the January 6 insurrection in the US two years prior.
A federal police official involved in the raids said confiscating Bolsonaro’s passport would give authorities powers similar to those had he been arrested, like controlling his ability to leave the country – but, crucially, would incite less public outrage.
The anonymous official said: “As he is a powerful political figure, it is better to wait for the indictment and a conviction before arresting him.LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Police were seen leaving Bolsonaro's party headquarters after the raid
Reuters
“A precautionary arrest would open up a lot of room for allegations of political persecution.”
Bolsonaro family spokesperson Fabio Wajngarten said the ex-president was at home in Rio de Janeiro when police turned up to demand his passport, and that authorities now hold the document after finding it in the Brazilian capital Brasília.
Other targets of the investigation included former running-mate Walter Braga Netto, former national security adviser Augusto Heleno and former cabinet members Paulo Nogueira Batista and Anderson Torres – all of whom received police search warrants.
Five arrests were made, including Bolsonaro’s party president Valdemar Costa Neto and international affairs adviser Filipe Martins.
The former premier told the Brazilian paper Folha de S.Paulo: “I left the government more than a year ago, and I’m still suffering relentless persecution… Forget about me – someone else is running the country now.”
Current President Lula laid the blame directly at his predecessor’s door, telling Brazilian radio that “without Bolsonaro there would have been no coup attempt”, and it had to be investigated to prevent it from happening again.
A federal police statement said the suspects were accused of participating in "a criminal organisation that acted in an attempted coup d'etat” in order to “keep the then-President of the Republic in power."
Since the attempted coup, thousands of people have been charged with taking part in the insurrection, but only a few dozen have been convicted, the BBC said.