2024-03-17 12:39:09
Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro said today he did not fear being prosecuted, a day after a police investigation revealed the far-right politician had tried to convince the country’s military of a coup plan to overturn his election defeat in 2022, Reuters reported
Bolsonaro did not directly address allegations by two military commanders that he had called them to discuss a possible coup to prevent leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from returning to power.
But he hinted at the lawsuit he could face after evidence emerged of his efforts to persuade the military to intervene.
“I’m not afraid of any kind of trial, as long as the judges are impartial,” Bolsonaro said at a political rally in Rio de Janeiro, where he supported his candidate for mayor of the city in local elections in October, BTA reported.
Bolsonaro continues to claim that he was politically persecuted by Lula’s government because he was a thorn in the side of the left.
Bolsonaro denied planning a coup after his election defeat, which he has never acknowledged. He flew to Florida to avoid handing the presidential ribbon to Lula, and days later, Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed government buildings in an attempt to stage a coup.
Last year, Bolsonaro was banned from running for elected office for eight years for abusing his power as president.