Jair Bolsonaro orders inquiry into Brazil riots

Brasilia:

A Supreme Court judge on Friday ordered former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to face police questioning in connection with the January 8 attacks on the presidential palace, Congress and the high court by his supporters.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes ruled that Bolsonaro had to appear before federal police within 10 days to answer questions over allegations he incited rioters who called for the ouster of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva , who defeated Bolsonaro in last year’s elections.

“I accept the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office and determine that the Federal Police must take the testimony of Jair Messias Bolsonaro within a maximum of 10 days,” Moraes wrote in the decision obtained by AFP.

On 8 January, far-right supporters of Bolsonaro stormed the Hall of Power in Brasilia, ransacking offices, damaging artworks and calling on the military to intervene to remove veteran leftist Lula from power.

The scenes drew widespread comparisons to the January 6, 2021 riots in Washington, when supporters of former President Donald Trump – Bolsonaro’s political role model – stormed the US Capitol building in a bid to reverse his election loss.

The riots in Brasilia came a week after Lula, who previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, took office last October, soundly defeating Bolsonaro in a brutal, divisive election.

Prosecutors called for an investigation into a video posted online by Bolsonaro – and later removed – two days after the attacks, in which he denounced Lula’s election as illegitimate.

However, prosecutors said their investigation of the former president would not be limited to the video, but “a full investigation of all acts before and after January 8.”

Bolsonaro, who left for the US state of Florida in the final days of his term, returned to Brazil on March 30, vowing to oppose Lula’s government.

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