This is a consequence of the events of last year.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will hand over his passport to the authorities after being targeted this Thursday by a police operation on suspicion of an “attempted coup d’état”, which culminated with the riots of January 8, 2023 in Brasilia, said one of his lawyers.
In response to these decisions, President @jairbolsonaro will be transferred to the competent authorities.
I have determined that your auxiliary direction, that faith in my decision, that it was encountered in Mambucaba, returned to your house in Brasilia, expected to have your order…
— Fabio Wajngarten (@fabiowoficial) February 8, 2024
The federal police announced in a press release that they had launched a vast operation, with 33 searches and four arrest warrants, as part of an investigation into “a criminal organization which took part in an attempted coup d’état (… ) to obtain political advantages by maintaining the president of the time in power.
Four generals also targeted by the investigation
The president in question is Jair Bolsonaro, defeated in October 2022 in his attempt at re-election against Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
A week after the latter's inauguration, on January 8, 2023, thousands of Bolsonaristas ransacked places of power in Brasilia, during riots similar to the invasion of the Capitol two years earlier in the United States.
Also read: Institutions attacked in Brazil: Bolsonaro and his clan now at the heart of the investigation, a minister arrested
According to the Brazilian press, four generals were targeted by Thursday's operation, such as Walter Braga Netto, former Minister of Defense and vice-presidential candidate alongside Jair Bolsonaro, and Augusto Heleno, former Minister of the Cabinet of institutional security.
Last week, one of the former president's sons was targeted by another police operation, as part of an investigation into illegal espionage under the government of the ex-far-right president.