2022 Brazilian coup plot
[8][9] On 21 November 2024, the Federal Police formally accused Bolsonaro and 36 people for an attempt to overthrow Brazil's democratic institutions, including a plot to assassinate Lula da Silva, then-Vice President-elect Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
[12][13] Although fake news is not a new phenomenon, widespread access to digital communication tools and the ease of mass spread of messages gave these false informations, in 2022, an leading role in electoral debates, being the focus of containment actions by courts, legislators and media companies.
It also leveled a series of accusations, such as abuse of power and lack of impartiality,[b] against the Superior Electoral Court (TSE), which had been investigating Bolsonaro and his allies when he was in office.
[16] Upon his return to Brazil, Anderson Torres was arrested[17] and detained for four months while Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes investigated his role in the riots.
[c][18] In his testimony to the Federal Police on 2 February 2023, Torres sought to dismiss the coup draft found in his residence as a document "without legal viability", disposable, according to him.
[1] In a statement proffered as part of a plea deal approved by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, Mauro Cid stated that Jair Bolsonaro met with the commanders of the Armed Forces' three branches to assess the possibility of carrying out a coup, whose draft declaration had been prepared by his advisors, with the purpose of preventing the change of government.
[29][30][31][32][33][34] In addition to the military, Cid would have said that Bolsonaro received, in meetings at the presidential palace, various people with coup plans that involved, among other things, using a misinterpretation of article 142 of the Federal Constitution to entrust the armed forces with exercising the moderating power.
[37] On 30 June 2023, a majority at the Superior Electoral Court declared Jair Bolsonaro ineligible to hold political power until 2030 for his abuse and misuse of communication media during this meeting.
The targets of the search and seizure measures included the president of the Liberal Party, Valdemar Costa Neto, generals Braga Netto, Augusto Heleno, and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, admiral Almir Garnier Santos, former minister Anderson Torres, and Bolsonaro himself, who had his passport seized.
[42][43] The following day, on 9 February 2024, a meeting held on 5 July 2022, where then-President Jair Bolsonaro was recorded instructing ministers on the need to act before the elections to avoid a possible "guerrilla" in Brazil, was made public.
The meeting also involved other ministers, including the then-Minister of Defense, who reportedly stated that the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) was an "enemy" of the Bolsonarist group.
[44][45] During a meeting, the then minister of the Institutional Security Bureau (GSI), General Augusto Heleno, expressed the intention to infiltrate agents from the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) into both Jair Bolsonaro's and his main opponent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's electoral campaigns.
[46] On November 19, 2024, the Federal Police launched the Operation Counterattack, investigating a plan called "Green and Yellow Dagger", drawn up in 2022 to prevent the innauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Geraldo Alckmin, then president- and vice president-elect of Brazil, respectively.
The operation is part of a larger investigation into anti-democratic acts linked to the 2022 elections and the January 8, 2023 attacks, including violations of the rule of law and embezzlement of public assets.
[54] On December 14, 2024, retired army general Walter Braga Netto, who was also Jair Bolsonario's running mate in the 2022 Brazilian presidential election, was arrested and held in Rio de Janeiro after being be accused of hindering an investigation, as well as having a role, concerning the 2022 coup attempt which was made in an effort to bar 2022 Brazilian presidential election winner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office.
[11] Leading up to his arrest, searches were carried out at Braga Netto's residence in Rio de Janeiro and also the home of retired colonel Flavio Botelho Peregrino in Brasilia.
[11] Those being investigated for the possible coup attempt are:[55] On January 8, 2023, Torres was dismissed from his position as Secretary of Public Security of the Brasilia Federal District due to the 2023 invasion of the Brazilian Congress.
[58] The seizure of materials at Mauro Cid's house also revealed his collaboration with former major Aylton Gomes [pt] in planning and to recruit military and civilians for the coup.
He was arrested as part of Operation Venire and identified as one of the leaders of the attempted coup after the Federal Police examined the contents of Mauro Cid's phone.
