Daily Times

Brazilian authorities on Saturday arrested Braga Netto, a former defense minister and close ally of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, on suspicion of obstructing an investigation into an alleged coup attempt in 2022, a police source told AFP. Brazil’s Federal Police said it had detained “people who would be obstructing” the investigation. “Braga Netto was arrested in the operation,” the source said. In late November, police released a report recommending the indictment of former far-right president Bolsonaro and several dozen allies for attempting a coup d’état to prevent the inauguration of leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The list included Netto, who was also his running mate in the 2022 elections. Attorney general Paulo Gonet has been examining the allegations to see if evidence supports charges being laid against Bolsonaro and the 36 others named as co-conspirators. The 884-page report drawn up after a nearly two-year police investigation urges Gonet to indict Bolsonaro and the others for planning an attempted coup and seeking to “violently overthrow the democratic state.” It details alleged collusion between Bolsonaro and some of his officials, including members of his military brass, to claim fraud in the 2022 elections won by Lula and to use decrees to sideline the Supreme Court.