The Brazilian Police have arrested the former Minister of Defense and former candidate for the Vice President of the country, General Walter Braga Netto, as part of an investigation into a plot organized by former president Jair Bolsonaro to orchestrate a coup in 2022as confirmed by sources close to the investigation to the main Brazilian media and to the Bloomberg agency.
Braga Netto is among dozens of people whom police accused in November of conspiring to keep Bolsonaro in power after his 2022 election defeat. Braga Netto is among dozens of people whom police accused in November of conspiring to keep Bolsonaro in power after his 2022 election defeat. conspiring to keep Bolsonaro in power after his 2022 election defeat. Braga Netto’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It is worth remembering that, on January 8, 2023, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings in the capital, Brasilia, amid claims that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s victory had been fraudulent.
While Bolsonaro denies taking part in the riots, he has since alleged efforts to override the will of the Brazilian people.
Police arrested Braga Netto, who served as Bolsonaro’s running mate in 2022, at his home in Rio de Janeiro early Saturday morning after returning to the city from a trip, according to these sources.
Officially, the federal police have limited themselves to announcing an operation to “prevent the repetition of illegal actions,” according to a statement that does not identify Braga Netto by name.
