Brazilian congressional probe recommends indicting ex-President Bolsonaro for January riots

Brasilia, Oct 19 : A Brazilian congressional probe has recommended that former President Jair Bolsonaro should be indicted on charges of instigating the riots on January 8 when thousands of his radical supporters stormed key state buildings in the capital city.

"The facts reported here exhaustively demonstrate that Jair Messias Bolsonaro, then occupying the position of president of the republic, was the intellectual and moral author of the attacks perpetrated against the institutions that culminated on January 8, 2023," the probe report said.

The 1,300-page report, approved by a vote of 20 to 11, will be sent to the Public Prosecutors Office for consideration, reports Xinhua news agency.

Bolsonaro stands accused of conspiracy to commit a crime; attempting to violently abolish the democratic rule of law; attempting to overthrow a legitimately constituted government, and attempting to prevent the free exercise of political rights.

Another 60 people have been accused of crimes in the report, including eight army generals.

On January 8, Bolsonaro supporters -- wearing shirts in the colours of Brazils flag yellow and green -- invaded and vandalised Parliament, headquarters of the federal government and the Federal Supreme Court.

The police had to resort to firing tear gas when the demonstrators wrapped in the national flag surrounded the presidential palace.

According to the report, Bolsonaro "fueled violence among the Brazilian population during several events in the run-up to the 2022 elections" and undermined the electoral process.

In June, the former President was barred from running for office for eight years after he was found guilty of abusing power and misusing public media during the 2022 election campaign.

The case stemmed from a meeting Bolsonaro held with foreign ambassadors in July 2022, in which he spread false information about Brazil’s electoral system.

The meeting was livestreamed by official television channels and on YouTube.

YouTube took down the livestream of the event for not complying with its fake news policy.

In the October 2022 presidential election, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who was banned from standing for office after being convicted in a fraud case, received more than 60 million votes, or 50.89 per cent of the ballots, surpassing Bolsonaros 58 million votes, or 49.11 per cent.

This was the smallest margin in a runoff election in Brazils history.

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