Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 others were charged by federal police on Thursday with attempting a coup to remain in office after losing the 2022 election.
The Associated Press reported that the findings will be submitted to Brazil's Supreme Court on Thursday, where it will be referred to Attorney General Paulo Gone to decide whether to abandon the investigation or agree to indictment and bring Bolsonaro to justice.
Mr Bolsonaro, who leans to the political right, denies claims that he sought to remain president after his defeat in 2022 by leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
After losing the election, Bolsonaro launched an aggressive campaign against Brazil's government, claiming the election was stolen.
Bolsonaro banned from running for eight years
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 others were indicted by federal police on Thursday. (Evaristo Sa/AFP via Getty Images)
A week after Lula took office, Bolsonaro's supporters attacked and vandalized the South American country's Supreme Court, parliament and presidential palace. Hundreds of them are scheduled to go on trial.
Since his defeat, Bolsonaro has faced a series of legal threats.
In June 2023, election judges decided that the former leader had attacked public trust in the country's democratic institutions and voted to ban him from public leadership for eight years. The court also deemed Bolsonaro a threat to political tensions.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro indicted by federal police over undeclared diamond scandal: Associated Press
A judge on Brazil's Supreme Court has ordered federal police to investigate former President Jair Bolsonaro over the attack by his supporters on a government building after the inauguration of his socialist successor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. ordered. (AP Photo/Eraldo Perez)
The decision was taken by the Superior Electoral Court with four out of seven votes.
Bolsonaro was indicted by Brazil's federal police in July on charges of money laundering and criminal association related to diamonds he allegedly received from Saudi Arabia while in office.
This is the second formal charge of criminal misconduct against Bolsonaro, who was also charged in March with falsifying COVID-19 vaccination records for Bolsonaro and others.
The former president has denied any involvement in any of the allegations.
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Brazilian police on Tuesday arrested a military officer and four federal police officers on suspicion of plotting a coup, including plans to overthrow the government after 2022 elections, and killing Lula and other senior officials.
Fox News Digital's Timothy HJ Nerozzi and Kyle Schmidbauer and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
