Status: 04/15/2023 02:36 am
More than three months after the storming of the Brazilian government district, ex-President Bolsonaro is to be questioned. The question will also be asked whether he encouraged his followers to attack.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has had to testify about his supporters’ storming of the government district in Brasília. Bolsonaro must be “interrogated by the federal police within ten days,” according to a decision by the Supreme Federal Court.
The court thus granted an application by the Attorney General’s Office. Several investigations are underway against Bolsonaro – one of them relates to the storming of the government district.
Storming of the government district after Lula’s election victory
Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace on January 8 and rioted. Considerable damage was done. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had been inaugurated a week earlier.
Lula narrowly defeated far-right Bolsonaro in a runoff election in October. To this day, however, the loser has not expressly admitted his defeat, but rather sowed doubts about the electronic voting system in Brazil.
At the time of the riots in Brasília, Bolsonaro was in the US state of Florida. Prosecutors want to know if he encouraged his supporters to attack. Hundreds of alleged rioters are in custody, and just as many have been released.