Brazil's ex-President Bolsonaro charged in alleged coup plot

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro was charged on Tuesday in connection with a plotting a coup to overturn his 2022 election loss, further complicating the beleaguered far-right leader's already narrow hopes of a political comeback.

Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet charged Bolsonaro and his running mate, General Walter Braga Netto, with leading a "criminal organisation" that aimed to overthrow the country's 40-year-old democracy.

A total of 34 people were charged, including several military officials, such as Bolsonaro's former national security adviser, retired General Augusto Heleno, and former Navy Commander Almir Garnier Santos, the office of the country's top prosecutor said in a legal document.

"The responsibility for acts harmful to the democratic order falls upon a criminal organisation led by Jair Messias Bolsonaro, based on an authoritarian project of power," the charge said.

It is considered unlikely that Bolsonaro will be arrested before his trial unless Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case, deems him a flight risk.

The charges come just months after the federal police concluded a two-year investigation into Bolsonaro's role in the election-denying movement that culminated in the riots by his supporters that swept the capital, Brasilia, in January 2023, a week after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office.

Prosecutors have said that the plot included plans to poison leftist standard-bearer and onetime union leader Lula, who narrowly defeated Bolsonaro in the late 2022 presidential election.

"They sought total control over the Three Powers Plaza; they outlined a central office that would serve the purpose of organizing the new order they intended to establish," the charging document said. "One of the plans concluded with this expressive phrase: 'Lula does not climb the (presidential palace) ramp.'"

JAIL TIME POSSIBLE

Bolsonaro, a former army captain, has repeatedly denied breaking any laws, and calls allegations against him a witch hunt by his political opponents.

A lawyer representing the former president did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tuesday's indictment marks the first time the beleaguered right-wing populist has been charged with a crime, though he has faced several legal challenges to his conduct as president since he lost his bid for reelection.

Two previous decisions by Brazil's federal electoral court have already blocked him from running for president in 2026.

Bolsonaro's defense has two weeks to respond to the charges before Brazil's Supreme Court, which is overseeing the case, decides whether it will accept the charges.

If convicted on all charges, Bolsonaro could face 12 to over 40 years in jail. Many, including Bolsonaro's own allies, believe his chances of being considered innocent by the court are slim.

"There's a 99% chance that the Supreme Court will accept the charges," said Vera Chemim, constitutional lawyer in São Paulo. "But to convict Bolsonaro, the Supreme Court will need robust evidence."