Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro arrived at the Federal Police headquarters on Wednesday to give testimony about his actions before the Jan. 8 attacks on government buildings in capital Brasilia.
One week after his leftist successor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office, Bolsonaro's supporters raided and trashed the buildings of the Supreme Court, Congress and the presidential palace. Hundreds of them are expected to stand trial.
Brazil's prosecutor-general Augusto Aras said April 14 that Bolsonaro “allegedly encouraged the perpetration of crimes” against the rule of law. The former president left the country after his defeat and was staying in Orlando, Florida during the attacks. He had never openly conceded defeat in the closest presidential race since Brazil's return to democracy over three decades ago. He also repeatedly made unfounded claims that sowed doubt about the reliability of Brazil's electronic voting system. Many of his die-hard supporters still believe the election was fraudulent, though there is no evidence.
His sworn deposition is a step forward in just one of the investigations targeting the far-right leader that could render him ineligible for upcoming races or result in jailtime. Bolsonaro admitted March 15 that his ineligibility is possible, but said prison could only result from an “arbitrary” ruling. The former president has denied any wrongdoing in the cases or involvement in the Jan. 8 uprising.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes granted a request from the prosecutor-general's office to investigate Bolsonaro's role, citing a video the former president posted on Facebook two days after the riot. It claimed Lula wasn’t voted into office, but rather was chosen by the Supreme Court and the electoral body, which Justice de Moraes also oversees.
Although Bolsonaro posted the video after the riot and deleted it the following morning, prosecutors argued its content was sufficient to justify investigating his conduct beforehand.
Earlier this month, Bolsonaro testified to the federal police about three sets of diamond jewlery he received from Saudi Arabia during his time as president. He denies any wrongdoing in that case too.
The former president is expected to testify in several other cases about his actions during his presidency.
