SAO PAULO (AP) 鈥� Brazil鈥檚 former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro was fully aware of and actively participated in a coup plot to remain in office , according to a Federal Police report unsealed Tuesday.
Federal Police last Thursday formally accused Bolsonaro and 36 other people of attempting a coup. They sent their 884-page report to the Supreme Court, which lifted the seal. The unsealed document provides a first glimpse of several testimonies that describe the former president as one of the key leaders of the plot, and not a mere observer.
鈥淭he evidence collected throughout the investigation shows unequivocally that then-President Jair Messias Bolsonaro planned, acted and was directly and effectively aware of the actions of the criminal organization aiming to launch a coup d鈥檈tat and eliminate the democratic rule of law, which did not take place due to reasons unrelated to his desire,鈥� the document said.
At another point, it says: 鈥淏olsonaro had full awareness and active participation.鈥�
Bolsonaro, who had repeatedly alleged without evidence that the country's electronic voting system was prone to fraud, called a meeting in December 2022, during which he presented a draft decree to the commanders of the three divisions of the armed forces, according to the police report, signed by four investigators.
The decree would have launched an investigation into suspicions of fraud and crimes related to the October 2022 vote, and suspended the powers of the nation's electoral court.
The navy鈥檚 commander stood ready to comply, but those from the army and air force objected to any plan that prevented Lula鈥檚 inauguration, the report said. Those refusals are why the plan did not go ahead, according to witnesses who spoke to investigators.
Bolsonaro never signed the decree to set the final stage of the alleged plan into action.
Federal Police say the former president and his allies at first expected to launch the coup d'etat on Dec. 15, 2022. The document also said that top military personnel who stood in the way became targets of online attacks by a pro-Bolsonaro digital militia group.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or awareness of any plot to keep him in power or oust his leftist rival and successor, Luiz In谩cio Lula da Silva.
鈥淣o one is going to do a coup with a reserve general and half a dozen other officers. What is being said is absurd. For my part, there has never been any discussion of a coup,鈥� Bolsonaro told journalists in Brazil鈥檚 capital Brasilia on Monday.
鈥淚f someone came to discuss a coup with me, I鈥檇 say, that鈥檚 fine, but the day after, how does the world view us?鈥� he added. 鈥淭he word 鈥榗oup鈥� has never been in my dictionary.鈥�
The top court has passed the report to Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet. He will decide whether to formally charge Bolsonaro and put him on trial, or toss the investigation. The former president was formally accused of three crimes: violent elimination of the rule of law, staging a coup d'etat and forming a criminal organization.
Rodrigo Rios, a law professor at the PUC university in the city of Curitiba, said Bolsonaro could face at least 11 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
鈥淎 woman involved in the Jan. 8 attack on the Supreme Court received a 17-year prison sentence,鈥� Rios told The Associated Press, noting that the former president is more likely to receive 15 years or more if convicted. 鈥淏olsonaro鈥檚 future looks dark.鈥�
In the , his followers ransacked the Supreme Court and presidential palace in Brasilia, seeking to prompt intervention by the army that would oust Lula from power.
Jo茫o Pedro P谩dua, a law professor at the Universidade Federal Fluminense in Rio de Janeiro, said Bolsonaro鈥檚 defense could argue that actions of planning for a coup d鈥檈tat, as many described in the document, shouldn鈥檛 be prosecuted as if the group had acted.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a distinction between preparatory actions and execution actions. Planning is typically a preparatory action,鈥� P谩dua said. 鈥淥f course there are some execution actions here, too. Pressure on key military agents is one. But there will be a debate about that.鈥�
P谩dua added that Bolsonaro faces the biggest risk of conviction on the count of forming a criminal organization, as the document shows evidence that he held several meetings with key allies to discuss the plot.
Ahead of the 2022 election, Bolsonaro repeatedly alleged that the election system, which does not use paper ballots, could be tampered with. The top electoral court later ruled that he had abused his power to cast unfounded doubt on the voting system, and ruled him ineligible .
Still, he has maintained that he will stand as a candidate in the 2026 race.
Since Bolsonaro left office, he has been targeted by several investigations, all of which he has chalked up to political persecution. Federal Police have accused him of without properly declaring it and directing a subordinate .
Authorities are also investigating whether he incited the Jan. 8, 2022 riot.
Bolsonaro had left for the United States days before Lula鈥檚 inauguration on Jan. 1, 2023 and stayed there three months, keeping a low profile. The police report unsealed Tuesday alleges he was seeking to avoid possible imprisonment related to the coup plot, and awaiting the uprising that took place a week later.
Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, one of the former president's sons, said Tuesday evening that 鈥渢he only path for some normalcy and some balance between the powers is amnesty鈥� for the far-right leader, his allies and his supporters.
鈥淚t has to be wide-ranging, general and unrestricted amnesty. I am very convinced of that. It has to include Justice Alexandre de Moraes, too,鈥� Flavio Bolsonaro said during a session at the Senate. He and his allies claim de Moraes has overstepped in the investigations of the former president and want him impeached.
De Moraes denies any wrongdoing in the probe and has =insisted he will not leave the investigation even though he was one of the targets of the plot.
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Hughes reported from Rio de Janeiro.
Mauricio Savarese And El茅onore Hughes, The Associated Press
