Brazilian police arrest five officers over alleged coup plot, plans to kill President Lula da Silva and others

According to the investigation, the coup plotters also planned to kill Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Brazilian media said the five arrested included four military and one police officer.

Brazilian police arrested five officers accused over a coup plot that included plans to overthrow the government following the 2022 elections and kill President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, authorities said.

According to the investigation, the coup plotters also planned to kill Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Brazilian media said the five arrested included four military and one police officer.

The police said that five arrest warrants have been carried out, as well as three search and seizure warrants along with other measures, including seizing the suspects' passports and preventing them from contacting others.

Judge de Moraes, who authorised the arrests, said a police investigation revealed the coup plot involved military personnel trained in the Army’s Special Forces and a retired high-ranking official.

“The objective was to prevent the inauguration of the legitimately elected government and undermine the free exercise of democracy and the authority of Brazil’s judiciary,” judge de Moraes said in the order.

“These actions, peaking between November and December 2022, were part of a broader plan to carry out a coup d’état,” he added.

The developments on Tuesday (November 19, 2024) followed statements by two top Brazilian military leaders who declared to police earlier in 2024 that former President Jair Bolsonaro presented them a plan for him to remain in power after the 2022 election, which he lost.

However, both refused and warned him they would arrest him if he tried it, according to judicial documents released in March.

The statements by the two added to term add to Mr. Bolsonaro's legal woes as prosecutors seek to find links between the far-right leader and the January 8, 2023 riots that trashed government buildings in the capital Brasilia one week after Mr. Lula’s inauguration.

Published - November 19, 2024 07:45 pm IST