BRASILIA, Jan 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Brazilian authorities moved to investigate ex-president Jair Bolsonaro for “instigation and intellectual authorship” of the Jan 8 sacking of government buildings in Brasilia.
Seeking permission from the Supreme Court to add Bolsonaro to the suspect list, the office of the prosecutor general (PGR) cited a video he had posted “questioning the regularity of the 2022 presidential elections.”
By doing so, “Bolsonaro would have publicly incited the commission of a crime,” the PGR said in a statement.
The video was posted two days after the violent storming of the presidency, Congress and Supreme Court by supporters of Bolsonaro, and later deleted.
The PGR explained that even though the video came after the uprising, it may serve as “a probative connection” that justified “a global investigation of the acts performed before and after January 8, 2023 by the defendant.”
Thousands of so-called “bolsonaristas” invaded the seats of government in Brasilia Sunday, breaking windows and furniture, destroying priceless works of art, and leaving graffiti messages calling for a military coup in their wake.
Bolsonaro had for years sought to cast doubts on the reliability of Brazil’s internationally praised election system, and had suggested he would not accept a defeat.
He never publicly acknowledged Lula’s victory, and left for the United States two days before his successor’s inauguration.
As they move to identify the masterminds and financiers of the violent uprising that invited many parallels with the Jan 6, 2021 storming of the US Capitol, Brazilian authorities on Friday also tightened the screws on a former Bolsonaro minister.
Anderson Torres, who was Bolsonaro’s last justice minister, is wanted under a Supreme Court warrant for alleged “collusion” with the rioters.
He also stands accused of “omission” in his most recent job as security chief for the capital Brasilia which was the target of the destructive ire of protesters.
He was fired after the violent revolt against leftist new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Like his former boss Bolsonaro, Torres was in the United States when the riots erupted, and is expected back in Brazil any day.
Lula’s new justice minister Flavio Dino, who replaced Torres, said Friday the authorities would give Torres until Monday to present himself.
If he fails to show up, “through international mechanisms, we will launch the procedures for extradition next week, since there is an arrest warrant,” Dino told reporters in the capital.
Both Bolsonaro and Torres have denied involvement in the riots.
More than 2,000 were detained after the riotous events, for which the full extent of the damage is still being calculated. — NNN-AGENCIES
