Brazil: Bolsonaro to be questioned over riots

Brazil's Supreme Court ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday to appear before federal police within 10 days for questioning regarding his involvement in the January 8 storming of government buildings by his supporters.

The order was given by Brazil's Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes after a request for Bolsonaro's testimony was filed by the Prosecutor General's Office, which said it was an "indispensable" step to clarify the events of that day.

"I grant the request by the prosecutor general's office and determine the federal police must take Jair Messias Bolsonaro's testimony within a maximum of 10 days," de Moraes wrote in the ruling, according to the AFP news agency.

The January 8 riots

The supporters of the far-right leader invaded and vandalized Brazil's Congress, the presidential palace, and the Supreme Court to protest the victory of leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the October election and call for a military coup to oust Lula.

The scenes were reminiscent of the January 6, 2021, storming of the US Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.

Bolsonaro, who was in self-imposed exile in Florida at the time, has denied any responsibility for the riots.

Critics accuse the former president of instigating the riots by inflaming his supporters with attacks on Lula and by repeatedly criticizing Brazil's voting system, which he claimed was open to fraud, without providing proof.

He never explicitly conceded that he lost the election.

Other legal woes

Bolsonaro returned to Brazil on March 30, vowing to oppose Lula, but faces legal investigations.

Federal electoral prosecutors have called on the Superior Electoral Court to ban Bolsonaro from elected office for eight years for attacking the voting system in a meeting he had called with the diplomatic corps in July.

The investigation into Bolsonaro's alleged role in the January 8 riots is just one of several legal troubles facing the former president.

Bolsonaro faces four investigations by the Supreme Court that could send him to prison and 16 cases before Brazil's Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE), which can strip him of his right to run for office for eight years, removing him from the 2026 presidential race.

In a separate case, Bolsonaro was questioned by federal police last week over allegations that he tried to illegally keep millions of dollars worth of diamond jewelry received as a gift from Saudi Arabia during his presidency.

He has denied any wrongdoing in all cases.

ss/sms (AP, AFP, Reuters)