Brazil Prosecutor Accuses Jair Bolsonaro of Trying to Poison Socialist President

Prosecutor General of Brazil Paulo Gonet on Tuesday filed criminal charges against conservative former President Jair Bolsonaro, accusing him of allegedly planning to poison current radical leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva following his narrow defeat in the 2022 presidential election.

Bolsonaro and over 30 other individuals stand accused of armed conspiracy, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, coup d’état, damage qualified by violence, serious threats against the Brazilian Union’s assets, and deterioration of listed heritage.

The 272-page complaint, which Gonet filed to the Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF), claims that Bolsonaro and his then-vice presidential running mate Walter Braga Netto allegedly led a “criminal organization” of some 30 individuals that sought to poison Lula and nullify the results of the 2022 presidential election. The complaint also alleged that the group staged a purported coup plot that included the assassination of then-Vice President-elect Geraldo Alckmin and STF Minister Alexandre de Moraes — plans that, according to Gonet, had the “approval” of Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro narrowly lost against Lula in the controversial 2022 presidential election.

“The leaders of the organization were the President of the Republic himself and his vice-presidential candidate, General Braga Netto. They both accepted, encouraged and carried out acts that are typified in criminal legislation as an attack on the legal asset of the existence and independence of powers and the democratic rule of law,” the complaint reportedly read.

The coup plot, Gonet argued in the complaint, did not allegedly materialize due to “circumstances beyond his [Bolsonaro’s] control,” such as opposition from the commanders of the Brazilian Air Force and Army, who refused to participate in the plot.

Gonet also linked the coup plot to the events of January 8, 2023. On that day, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed the premises of Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Federal Tribunal, and Planalto presidential palace. While the protesters caused significant damage to the facilities, furniture, and priceless historical artifacts housed therein, no deaths and only minimal injuries were documented.

“Thus, for this further cause, [the organization] must be held responsible for promoting acts against the democratic order, with a view to breaking the constitutional order, preventing the functioning of the Powers, in rebellion against the Democratic Rule of Law,” the complaint read.

The coup plan, Gonet claimed through the complaint, allegedly began in 2021, when Bolsonaro and others engaged in “systematic attacks” against Brazil’s electronic voting system through public statements and on the Internet — making special mention of an incident that occurred in July 2022.

At the time, Bolsonaro questioned the integrity of Brazil’s voting machines in a meeting with foreign ambassadors. Brazil’s STF accused Bolsonaro of spreading “misinformation” through those comments, leading to his ban from running for public office until 2030 on grounds that Bolsonaro violated local electoral laws. The statement from the prosecutor-general described the July 2022 event as an “attempt to prepare the international community for the disrespect of the will of the people in the presidential elections.”

The criminal complaint filed by Gonet on Tuesday marks the continuation of an over two-year-long probe process against Bolsonaro and members of his inner circle. In November, Brazil’s federal police indicted Bolsonaro and a broader group of over 30 individuals, alleging that Bolsonaro and others conspired to overturn the 2022 election, poison Lula, and assassinate Vice President Alkcmin and Justice de Moraes.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the case’s rapporteur, must analyze the complaint and designate a 15-day period for the defendants’ lawyers to present a preliminary defense and any objections to the complaint. The Brazilian top court must then evaluate the accusation and the defense’s arguments before determining if the case will go to trial.

According to unnamed STF justices cited by the outlet G1 on Wednesday morning, the Brazilian top court plans to try Bolsonaro in 2025 so as to avoid what was reportedly described as a “contamination” of the upcoming 2026 Brazilian general election, when Brazil is slated to elect a new president, vice president, members of Congress, and regional authorities.

De Moraes – alongside Justices Cármen Lúcia, Luiz Fux, Flávio Dino, and Cristiano Zanin – are reportedly considering increasing the frequency of the corresponding meetings “from every 15 days to weekly” to expedite the proceedings and “conclude” Bolsonaro’s case before the 2026 election.

Bolsonaro’s defense team released a public statement on Wednesday evening in response to the “inept” complaint. In the statement, shared across local outlets and on social media, the former president’s legal team expressed its “dismay and indignation” at the accusations espoused by Prosecutor-General Gonet, asserting that Bolsonaro “never agreed to any movement aimed at deconstructing the democratic rule of law or the institutions that underpin it.”

“Despite almost two years of investigations – a period in which he was the target of exhaustive investigative diligence, amply supported by invasive precautionary measures, including the preventive custody of close supporters – no element was found that even remotely connected the President to the narrative constructed in the complaint,” the statement read.

“There is no message from the President of the Republic to support the accusation, despite a veritable raid on his personal telephones,” the statement continued.

Bolsonaro’s legal team further asserted that the “inept” accusations claim he participated in plans that “contradict each other,” stressing that Bolsonaro trusts in justice and therefore believes that this complaint “will not prevail due to its precariousness, incoherence and lack of true facts to support it before the Judiciary.”

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.