Police confiscate former Brasilian President Bolsonaro’s passport

Brazilian authorities have confiscated former president Bolsonaro’s passport amid allegations of election meddling and a coup attempt

Brazilian authorities confiscated the passport of former President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday, accusing him of orchestrating an attempt to overturn the country’s 2022 election results in order to cling to power after losing to rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, leading the investigation, stated that Bolsonaro had received a draft decree from his aides aimed at nullifying the presidential election results and issuing arrest warrants for Moraes, fellow Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes, and Senate leader Rodrigo Pacheco in November 2022, one month after the polls.

Subsequently, Bolsonaro allegedly convened a meeting with military commanders to pressure them into supporting the coup attempt, according to police reports.

Brazil’s Federal Police arrested four individuals and executed 33 search warrants on Thursday as part of the investigation.

The operation launched by the Federal Police, Operation Tempus Veritatis, targeted several close associates of Bolsonaro, including Bolsonaro’s former running mate Walter Braga Netto, former Secretary of Institutional Security Augusto Heleno, former Defense Minister Paulo Nogueira Batista and former Justice Minister Anderson Torres.

Bolsonaro remains under investigation for various allegations dating back to his presidency, including allegations of attempting to unlawfully retain jewelry gifted by the Saudi royal family and suspicions of falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination certificate.

Source: Newsroom

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