Brazilian four-star general arrested on suspicion of plotting a coup

According to RCO News Agency, in November, General Walter Braga Neto, along with former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and 35 other people, were officially accused of a coup to keep Bolsonaro in office. The preparation for the coup was due to the failure of Bolsonaro’s entry into the 2022 election.

Prosecutors have yet to file formal charges against Braga Neto. The federal police said in a statement that Saturday’s arrest stemmed from charges of obstructing the collection of evidence. The arrest request was approved by the judge of the Supreme Court “Alexander de Moras” and with the approval of the Attorney General’s Office.

Braga Neto was Bolsonaro’s Chief of Staff from 2020 to 2021 and Minister of Defense from 2021 to 2022. His attorney did not respond to a request for comment. Earlier, Braga Neto’s legal team said they would wait to review police documents before commenting.

In November, Brazil’s federal police released the final report of its investigation into a plan to keep Bolsonaro in office by canceling the 2022 election of Luis Inacio Lula da Silva as president. Federal police are painting Braga Neto as one of the leaders of the plot, who was also involved in pressuring military leaders to sign the coup.

The 884-page document, supported by evidence and testimony, describes a multi-step plan. This plan included the systematic establishment of distrust towards the electoral system among the people, drafting a decree to give legal cover to the plan, pressuring high-ranking military forces to go along with this plan, and inciting a riot in the capital.

According to the investigation, the plan included a plot to assassinate Lula, Vice President-elect Geraldo Alchemin, and Supreme Court Justice Alexander de Moras. Investigators allege that Braga Neto approved the assassination plan in a meeting with the conspirators inside his home.

There is no indication in the police report that there was an attempt to assassinate Lola or Alkemin. However, investigators found messages and documents indicating that the conspirators were monitoring and following Moras at the time. The Supreme Court statement said that the police have new evidence that Braga Neto was involved in providing and delivering financial resources for the coup.

Braga Neto, former President Jair Bolsonaro and his key allies have denied any wrongdoing or involvement, accusing officials of political persecution.

Bolsonaro wrote on social media platform X that the arrest warrant was issued on a questionable basis, while allies of the former president criticized the authorities for what they called another case of violations of legal norms by the authorities.

However, the current government of Lula and members of his party called it a victory for democracy and justice in Brazil.

“The fact that, for the first time in Brazil’s history, a four-star general was arrested for attempting a coup is in itself a sign of our progress as a democracy,” Lula’s Senator Randolph Rodríguez wrote in a post on X. It is based on the constitution. “Brazil as a republic still has a long way to go, but today is a historic day in that journey.”

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