Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will hand over his passport to his country's authorities after he was targeted by a police operation, today, Thursday, on suspicion of carrying out a “coup attempt” against the backdrop of riots that occurred on January 8, 2023 in Brasilia, according to what one of his lawyers confirmed.
“Based on the decisions taken today,” (Bolsonaro) will “surrender his passport to the authorities,” Fabio Wajngarten, a lawyer and close associate of the former president, wrote on the X website.
The Federal Police announced, in a statement, that it had launched a large-scale operation, which included 33 raids and 4 arrest warrants, as part of an investigation into “a criminal organization that participated in a coup attempt (…) to obtain political advantages while keeping the then president in power,” in reference to To Jair Bolsonaro.
In October 2022, the right-wing former president failed in a re-election ballot after assuming power from 2019 to 2022, and former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won these elections.
On January 8, 2023, a week after the inauguration of Lula da Silva, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed the headquarters of the presidential palace, parliament, and the Supreme Court, causing serious damage to them.
The riots recalled the storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 by supporters of then-President Donald Trump to prevent the certification of the victory of his opponent, President Joe Biden.
The Brazilian press confirmed that the police operation, today, Thursday, targeted four generals, including Walter Braga Neto, the former Minister of Defense and candidate for Vice President alongside Bolsonaro, and the former Minister of National Security, Augusto Heleno.
Last week, another police operation targeted one of Bolsonaro's sons.
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