Bolsonaro Accused of Plotting a Coup

The former president of Brazil has been charged by the country's top prosecutor with attempting a coup. Jair Bolsonaro is accused of plotting to assassinate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva before he took office as president in 2023, in an effort for Bolsonaro to hold on to power despite losing in the 2022 election, the Wall Street Journal reports. Brazil's attorney general, Paulo Gonet, charged Bolsonaro and 33 other far-right figures in the alleged scheme Tuesday night, the Guardian reports. In addition to allegedly planning to poison Lula, they are accused of plotting to shoot Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, another of Bolsonaro's political foes.

Brazil's Supreme Court must now consider the charges, and if accepted, Bolsonaro will be formally charged and a trial will be held, the BBC reports. If convicted, experts say he could face up to 43 years in prison. "They are doing everything possible to remove me from the race—because they know they cannot defeat me fairly," Bolsonaro said in response to the charges. "This is the same failed strategy that was used against President Trump in the United States." Bolsonaro has said he is hoping the Trump administration can help him return to power in Brazil, though he was banned from holding office for eight years over false claims of fraud following the 2022 election. (More Jair Bolsonaro stories.)