SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro was fully aware of and actively participated in a coup plot to remain in office after his defeat in the 2022 election, according to a Federal Police report unsealed Tuesday.
Federal Police last Thursday formally accused Bolsonaro and 36 other people of attempting a coup. They sent their 884-page report to the Supreme Court, which lifted the seal. The unsealed document provides a first glimpse of several testimonies that describe the former president as one of the key leaders of the plot, and not a mere observer.
“The evidence collected throughout the investigation shows unequivocally that then-President Jair Messias Bolsonaro planned, acted and was directly and effectively aware of the actions of the criminal organization aiming to launch a coup d’etat and eliminate the democratic rule of law, which did not take place due to reasons unrelated to his desire,” the document said.
At another point, it says: “Bolsonaro had full awareness and active participation.”
Bolsonaro, who had repeatedly alleged without evidence that the country's electronic voting system was prone to fraud, called a meeting in December 2022, during which he presented a draft decree to the commanders of the three divisions of the armed forces, according to the police report, signed by four investigators. The decree would have launched an investigation into suspicions of fraud and crimes related to the October 2022 vote, and suspended the powers of the nation's electoral court.
The navy’s commander stood ready to comply, but those from the army and air force objected to any plan that prevented Lula’s inauguration, the report said. Those refusals are why the plan did not go ahead, according to witnesses who spoke to investigators.
Bolsonaro never signed the decree to set the final stage of the alleged plan into action.
Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or awareness of any plot to keep him in power or oust his leftist rival and successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
“No one is going to do a coup with a reserve general and half a dozen other officers. What is being said is absurd. For my part, there has never been any discussion of a coup,” Bolsonaro told journalists in Brazil’s capital Brasilia on Monday.
“If someone came to discuss a coup with me, I’d say, that’s fine, but the day after, how does the world view us?” he added. “The word ‘coup’ has never been in my dictionary.”
The top court has passed the report on to Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet. He will decide whether to formally charge Bolsonaro and put him on trial, or toss the investigation. The former president was formally accused of three crimes: violent elimination of the rule of law, staging a coup d'etat and forming a criminal organization.
Rodrigo Rios, a law professor at the PUC university in the city of Curitiba, said Bolsonaro could face up to a minimum of 11 years in prison if convicted on all charges.
“A woman involved in the Jan. 8 attack on the Supreme Court received a 17-year prison sentence,” Rios told The Associated Press, noting that the former president is more likely to receive 15 years or more if convicted. “Bolsonaro’s future looks dark.”
Ahead of the 2022 election, Bolsonaro repeatedly alleged that the election system, which does not use paper ballots, could be tampered with. The top electoral court later ruled that he had abused his power to cast unfounded doubt on the voting system, and ruled him ineligible for office until 2030.
Still, he has maintained that he will stand as a candidate in the 2026 race.
Since Bolsonaro left office, he has been targeted by several investigations, all of which he has chalked up to political persecution. Federal Police have accused him of smuggling diamond jewelry into Brazil without properly declaring them and directing a subordinate to falsify his and others’ COVID-19 vaccination statuses.
Authorities are also investigating whether he incited the Jan. 8, 2022 riot in which his followers ransacked the Supreme Court and presidential palace in Brasilia, seeking to prompt intervention by the army that would oust Lula from power.
Bolsonaro had left for the United States days before Lula’s inauguration on Jan. 1, 2023 and stayed there three months, keeping a low profile. The police report unsealed Tuesday alleges he was seeking to avoid possible imprisonment related to the coup plot, and also await the uprising that took place a week later.
Hughes reported from Rio de Janeiro
Former President Jair Bolsonaro arrives to speak with the press after being formally charged by the federal police with attempted coup, at the airport in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to the press after being formally charged by the federal police with attempted coup, at the airport in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
ROME (AP) — Robert Lewandowski joined Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as the only players in Champions League history with 100 or more goals. But Erling Haaland is on a faster pace than anyone by boosting his total to 46 goals at age 24 on Tuesday.
Still, Haaland's brace wasn't enough for Manchester City in a 3-3 draw with Feyenoord that extended the Premier League champion's winless streak to six matches.
Lewandowski’s early penalty kick started Barcelona off to a 3-0 win over previously unbeaten Brest to move into second place in the new single-league format. The Poland striker added goal No. 101 in second-half stoppage time.
Ronaldo leads the all-time scoring list with 140 goals and Messi is next with 129. But neither Ronaldo nor Messi play in the Champions League anymore following moves to Saudi Arabia and the United States, respectively.
“It’s a nice number,” Lewandowski said. “In the past I didn’t think I could score more than 100 goals in the Champions League. I’m in good company alongside Cristiano and Messi.”
The 36-year-old Lewandowski required 125 matches to reach the century mark, two more than Messi (123) and 12 fewer than Ronaldo (137).
Barcelona also got a second-half score from Dani Olmo.
The top eight finishers in the standings advance directly to the round of 16 in March. Teams ranked ninth to 24th go into a knockout playoffs round in February, while the bottom 12 teams are eliminated.
Haaland converted a first-half penalty to eclipse Messi as the youngest player to reach 45 goals then scored City's third after the break to raise his total to 46 goals in 44 games.
Ilkay Gundogan had City's second.
But then Feyenoord struck back with goals from Anis Hadj Moussa, Santiago Gimenez and David Hancko.
Inter Milan beat Leipzig 1-0 with an own goal to move atop the standings with 13 points, one more than Barcelona and Liverpool, which faces Real Madrid on Wednesday. The Serie A champion is the only club that hasn't conceded a goal.
Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 — the same score from the 2020 final between the two teams. PSG ended with 10 men and remained in the elimination zone. The French powerhouse has struggled in Europe after Kylian Mbappe’s move to Real Madrid.
Kim Min-jae’s first-half header was enough for Bayern, especially after Ousmane Dembelé was sent off in the 56th with his second yellow.
Atalanta moved within two points of the lead with a 6-1 win at Young Boys. Charles De Ketelaere scored two and assisted on three other goals for Atalanta.
Also, Arsenal kept red-hot striker Viktor Gyokeres quiet in a 5-1 win over Sporting Lisbon; and Germany star Florian Wirtz scored two goals and was involved in two more as Bayer Leverkusen boosted its chances of finishing in the top eight with a 5-0 rout of Salzburg.
AC Milan followed up its win at Real Madrid with a 3-2 victory at last-place Slovan Bratislava in an early match.
Christian Pulisic put the seven-time champion ahead midway through the first half by finishing off a counterattack. Then Rafael Leao restored the Rossoneri’s advantage after Tigran Barseghyan had equalized for Bratislava and Tammy Abraham quickly added another.
Nino Marcelli scored with a long-range strike in the 88th for Bratislava, which ended with 10 men.
Bratislava has lost all five of its matches.
Argentina World Cup winner Julian Alvarez scored twice and Atletico Madrid routed Sparta Prague 6-0 in the other early game.
Alvarez scored with a free kick 15 minutes in and Marcos Llorente added a long-range strike before the break. Alvarez finished off a counterattack early in the second half after being set up by substitute Antoine Griezmann, who then marked his 100th Champions League game by getting on the scoresheet himself.
Angel Correa added a late brace for Atletico, which earned its biggest away win in Europe.
Atletico beat Paris Saint-Germain in the previous round and extended its winning streak across all competitions to six matches.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Atletico's Julian Alvarez celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between between Sparta Prague and Athletico Madrid in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Michaela Rihova/CTK via AP)
AC Milan's Christian Pulisic, left, Slovan's Kyriakos Savvidis fight for the ball during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Slovan Bratislava and AC Milan in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
AC Milan's Rafael Leao scores the second goal against Slovan Bratislava during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Slovan Bratislava and AC Milan in Bratislava, Slovakia, on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Bayern's Kim Min-jae, right, reacts after scoring the opening goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between FC Bayern and Paris Saint Germain, at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024.(AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Bayern's Kim Min-jae, left, scores his side's opening goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between FC Bayern and Paris Saint Germain, at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024.(AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola takes his seat on the bench before the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Manchester City and Feyenoord at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Manchester City's Erling Haaland, center, celebrates with Phil Foden, left, after scoring his side's third goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Manchester City and Feyenoord at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Manchester City's Erling Haaland, center, celebrates with Phil Foden, left, after scoring his side's third goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Manchester City and Feyenoord at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Manchester City's Erling Haaland scores his side's third goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Manchester City and Feyenoord at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during a Champions League phase soccer Matchday 5 between Barcelona and Brest at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski shoots from the penalty spot to score his team's first goal during a Champions League phase soccer Matchday 5 between Barcelona and Brest at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during a Champions League phase soccer Matchday 5 between Barcelona and Brest at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during a Champions League phase soccer Matchday 5 between Barcelona and Brest at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
