Brazil police to seize former prez Bolsonaro’s passport, arrest close aides amid alleged coup investigation

Brazil’s federal police, on Thursday (Feb 8) sought to seize former President Jair Bolsonaro’s passport and arrest some of his closest aides for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2022 election, reported Reuters citing sources. 

Bolsonaro to surrender passport

The police said that they were carrying out dozens of search and seizure operations and executing four arrest warrants to target a “criminal organization involved in the attempted coup,” that would have kept Bolsonaro in power after his election defeat. 

The coup attempt in question was when thousands of supporters of the former president stormed the presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court last year in January after Bolsanaro lost to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. 

However, the former president was not himself the target of a search but was ordered to forfeit his passport, an officer with knowledge of the operation told the Associated Press.

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The federal police said that they were carrying out 33 searches and seeking four arrests in eight states and Brasilia, the country’s capital. 

The police also said that the group under investigation prepared to claim fraud in the 2022 election, even before voting took place, “in order to enable and legitimize a military intervention.”

The raids, authorized by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Morae, also ordered that multiple suspects – who were not named – be suspended from public duties and surrender their passports within 24 hours.

Fabio Wajngarten, Bolsonaro’s lawyer, took to X and confirmed that the former president would comply with the order. The former president has already been ruled politically ineligible until 2030 for spreading election falsehoods and is facing several criminal probes. 

Search warrants were also issued for properties linked to Walter Braga Netto, Bolsonaro’s former running mate; Augusto Heleno, his former national security adviser; former Defense Minister Paulo Nogueira Batista and former Justice Minister Anderson Torres, among others, reported Reuters citing sources. 

Lula responds

Amid the ongoing investigation and raids, the incumbent president said the coup attempt had to be investigated to keep it from happening again. Notably, the riots came a week after Lula’s inauguration in January 2023. 

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Bolsonaro, who was in the United States at the time of the riots has repeatedly denied responsibility and called the investigation politically motivated. When asked about the investigation during a radio interview, on Thursday, Lula said it wasn’t his place to comment about a sealed investigation.

“A lot of people should be investigated, because it is concrete fact that there was an attempted coup, there was a policy of disrespecting democracy, there was an attempt to destroy something we built so many years ago, which is the democratic process,” he added. 

“Without Bolsonaro there would have been no coup attempt," he further said.

(With inputs from agencies)