Brazil’s far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro has had to face a police hearing today about the storming of the government district in Brasilia in January. The judiciary is investigating the 68-year-old over allegations that he was behind the violent riot and incited his supporters to stage a coup against his successor.
Similar to the United States after right-wing populist Donald Trump was voted out of office, thousands of his supporters stormed parliament, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace in Brazil after Bolsonaro’s election defeat. To date, Bolsonaro has not explicitly acknowledged the election victory of his left-wing successor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva; before and after the election he had repeatedly spoken of voter fraud.
On January 8, a week after Lula’s inauguration, violent Bolsonaro supporters rioted in Brasilia. Bolsonaro has always denied any involvement in the storming and devastation of government agencies in the Brazilian capital.
