Bolsonaro declares about riots on January 8 in Brasilia

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro arrived at the Federal Police headquarters on Wednesday to testify about his actions before the January 8 attacks on government buildings in Brasilia.

A week after the swearing in of his leftist successor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalized the Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace buildings. Hundreds of them will go to trial.

Attorney General Augusto Aras said on April 14 that Bolsonaro “allegedly encouraged the commission of crimes” against the rule of law. The former president left the country after his defeat and was in Orlando, Florida, during the attacks. He has never publicly acknowledged his defeat in the closest election since Brazil’s return to democracy more than 30 years ago. He made repeated unsubstantiated statements that cast doubt on the reliability of the electronic voting system. Many of his staunch supporters believe there was voter fraud, despite the lack of evidence.

His sworn statement is a step forward in just one of the investigations that could disbar the right-wing leader from future elections or even send him to jail. Bolsonaro acknowledged on March 15 that disqualification is possible, but that imprisonment could only be the result of an “arbitrary” ruling. The former president has denied having committed any crime or participation in the events of January 8.

Federal Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes granted a request by the attorney general to investigate Bolsonaro’s role, citing a video posted on Facebook two days after the riots. It says that Lula was not elected by vote, but by the Federal Supreme Court and the electoral body, supervised by Judge de Moraes.

Although Bolsonaro posted the video after the attacks and deleted it the next morning, prosecutors say it is enough to justify an investigation into his prior conduct.

Weeks ago, Bolsonaro testified before the federal police about three diamond jewels that he received from Saudi Arabia when he was president. He also denies any wrongdoing in that case.

The former president must testify in several other cases about his actions when he was in office.

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