Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro has been formally charged with attempting to overturn the 2022 election results, as prosecutors allege he was involved in a broader conspiracy to remain in power.
On Tuesday, Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet accused Bolsonaro of being aware of and agreeing to a plot that included poisoning his successor, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and assassinating Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The indictment names Bolsonaro along with 33 others as part of an effort to subvert the democratic order.
“The members of the criminal organisation structured at the presidential palace a plan to attack institutions, aiming to bring down the system of the powers and the democratic order, which received the sinister name of ‘Green and Yellow Dagger,’” Gonet stated. “The plan was conceived and taken to the knowledge of the president, and he agreed to it.”
The allegations stem from an 884-page Federal Police report submitted last November, which describes an orchestrated campaign to undermine the electoral system, draft a decree to lend legitimacy to the scheme, pressure military leaders to support the effort, and incite unrest in the capital.
The Supreme Court will now review the charges, and if accepted, Bolsonaro will face trial.
Despite the accusations, the former president has denied any wrongdoing.
“I have no concerns about the accusations, zero,” Bolsonaro told reporters in Brasilia. “Have you seen the coup decree, by any chance? You haven’t. Neither have I.”
His legal team dismissed the charges, saying in a statement that they were met with “dismay and indignation,” and insisted Bolsonaro “has never agreed to any movement aimed at deconstructing the democratic rule of law or the institutions that underpin it.”
Bolsonaro’s son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, also rejected the indictment, calling it “empty” and accusing prosecutors of serving “the nefarious interests of Lula.”
If convicted of attempting a coup and violently attacking the democratic order, Bolsonaro could face up to 20 years in prison under Brazilian law.
