Former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro was charged on Tuesday with overseeing a plot to overturn his 2022 election loss with a coup, further complicating the far-right firebrand’s already narrow hopes of pulling off a political comeback.
Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet charged Bolsonaro and his running mate, Gen. Walter Braga Netto, with leading a “criminal organization” that aimed to overthrow Brazil’s 40-year-old democracy.
A total of 34 people were charged in the plot, including several military officials, such as Bolsonaro’s former national security adviser, retired Gen. Augusto Heleno, and former navy Cmdr. Almir Garnier Santos, according to the charge sheet.
“The responsibility for acts harmful to the democratic order falls upon a criminal organization led by Jair Messias Bolsonaro, based on an authoritarian project of power,” it added.
Analysts consider it unlikely Bolsonaro will be arrested before his trial, unless Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case, deems him a flight risk.
The case echoes the criminal charges faced by U.S. President…
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