Police Arrest Former Bolsonaro Minister in Coup Plot Probe
(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s federal police arrested Walter Braga Netto, a former defense minister and close ally of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, for his role in an alleged plot to overturn the 2022 election.
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Braga Netto was among dozens officials — including the former president himself — who police accused in November of conspiring to keep Bolsonaro in power following his failed reelection bid. Braga Netto’s lawyer didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The arrest on Saturday of the retired general was authorized by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing various probes into Bolsonaro and members of his administration for possible crimes committed in office, including falsifying vaccination records and selling presidential gifts for personal profit.
The judge also authorized a search of the home of Braga Netto’s assistant, Flavio Peregrino, a retired colonel. Peregrino didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Both men are suspected of taking part in an attempted coup and “trying to hinder investigations into the episode,” the Supreme Court said in a statement.
Police allege the plot Braga Netto designed was never put into action because it did not receive sufficient support from military brass.
On Jan. 8, 2023, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings in the capital, Brasilia, amid claims that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s victory had been fraudulent. While Bolsonaro denies taking part in the riots, authorities have been probing the right-wing leader and his inner circle for links to alleged efforts to overturn the will of the Brazilian people.
Police investigations claim that Braga Netto, who served as Bolsonaro’s running mate in 2022, took a central role in the organization and financing of a criminal conspiracy. He has denied taking part in the alleged plot.
He was arrested at his home in Rio de Janeiro early Saturday morning after he returned to the city from travel, according to people familiar with the process who spoke on condition of anonymity. He is the highest-ranking member of the former administration to be detained.
The federal police had taken measures to “prevent the repetition of illegal actions,” it said Saturday in a statement that didn’t identify Braga Netto.
(Updates to add detail on alleged plot’s failure in the sixth paragraph. An earlier version of this story corrected a part of judge’s order.)
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