By Brazil’s federal police submitted evidence to the Supreme Court Tuesday revealing former President Jair Bolsonaro’s alleged direct involvement in plotting a coup to overturn his 2022 election loss, detailed in an unsealed 884-page report.
The document, culminating a two-year investigation, presents evidence from search warrants, wiretaps, financial records, and plea bargain testimony pointing to a criminal conspiracy led by Bolsonaro. “Bolsonaro effectively planned, directed and executed, in coordination with other officials since at least 2019, concrete acts that aimed at the abolition of the democratic rule of law, with him remaining as president,” the report states.
Investigators found Bolsonaro had “full knowledge” of plans to assassinate then President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his running mate, based on intercepted conversations and presidential residence meetings. The evidence includes a December 2022 meeting where Bolsonaro allegedly presented top military commanders with a coup proposal, receiving support from Navy commander Admiral Almir Garnier Santos while Army and Air Force leaders refused.
Former Defense Minister Walter Braga Netto allegedly encouraged social media attacks on military commanders who rejected the plot and hosted a meeting where Lula’s assassination was discussed. “It was never a coup, much less a plan to murder someone,” Braga Netto responded on social media following last week’s accusations.
Police formally accused 37 people, including Bolsonaro, of involvement in the planned coup. The former president, who never recognized his defeat by Lula, faces charges of attempted coup, violent abolition of democratic rule, and criminal organization. He denied discussing any coup plans when speaking to journalists Monday in Brasilia.
The investigation delivers another blow to Bolsonaro’s 2026 presidential ambitions, alongside separate probes into alleged COVID-19 vaccination card tampering and embezzlement of Saudi-gifted jewelry. Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet will decide on charges against Bolsonaro and alleged co-conspirators, with sources indicating plans to combine three investigations into a single comprehensive indictment expected next year.
