Jair Bolsonaro was questioned for more than two hours at the Federal Police Headquarters in Brasilia.
Brasilia:
Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday denied involvement in anti-government riots by his supporters in January as he appeared before federal police.
The far-right leader is being investigated for his alleged role in plotting and inciting the riots, which sought to overthrow his successor, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro, who returned to Brazil in late March after spending three months in the US state of Florida, was questioned for more than two hours at the federal police headquarters in Brasilia, but left in a vehicle with tinted windows without speaking to reporters.
Shortly after, Bolsonaro’s spokesman Fabio Wajngarten told the press that the former president “denied all the unfortunate events that happened in Brasília” on the day of the riots.
One reason for launching the investigation was that two days after the riot, Bolsonaro shared on social media a video of a prosecutor protesting the legitimacy of Lula’s victory.
Bolsonaro’s lawyer, Paulo Bueno, said the president was under the influence of medication and had been hospitalized when he shared the video.
After the hearing Bueno said, “The sharing was so casual that he didn’t mention it until later and quickly deleted it.”
Lula, who previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, defeated Bolsonaro in a fractious, divisive election last October.
On January 8, a week after Lula took office, thousands of Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace in Brasilia.
In scenes reminiscent of the January 6, 2021 riots in Washington by supporters of former President Donald Trump – Bolsonaro’s political role model – they smashed offices, broke windows, vandalized artworks and ordered the military to oust Lula. asked to intervene.
Around 1,800 people have been arrested.
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Bolsonaro left Brazil for Florida on 30 December, two days before he was to hand over the presidential sash to Lula.
On 13 January, Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes opened an investigation into Bolsonaro’s alleged involvement in the 8 January stampede, in which rioters easily broke through security cordons.
A parliamentary inquiry committee will soon be set up in the Congress to throw light on the events of January 8.
Bolsonaro, a former army captain, was previously interviewed by police on April 5 in connection with an allegation that he tried to illegally import millions of dollars worth of jewelry gifted by Saudi Arabia.
A source close to the former president told AFP he denied the allegation.
Bolsonaro is the subject of at least 16 other investigations, which could lead to prison sentences or disqualification from politics if convicted.
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