"Coup draft" On 12 January 2023, the
Federal Police found a draft announcement of a coup in a search of former justice minister
Anderson Torres's home. The document outlined a plan to implement a
state of defense () that would annul the 2022 election results. It also leveled a series of accusations, such as
abuse of power and lack of impartiality, against the
Superior Electoral Court (TSE), which had been investigating Bolsonaro and his allies while he was in office.
Anderson Torres's testimony Upon his return to Brazil, Anderson Torres was arrested and detained for four months while Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes investigated his role in the riots. In his testimony to the Federal Police on 2 February 2023, Torres sought to dismiss the coup draft found in his residence as a document "without legal viability", disposable, according to him. He also stated that it was not he who had placed the draft decree in a folder on his shelf, and that he believed his domestic worker had done so while house cleaning. Torres reaffirmed that he had not drafted the document and did not know who did. To the accusation of negligence or complicity with the
2022–2023 Brazilian election protests that culminated in the
attack on Congress on 8 January, Torres, who took office on 2 January as head of security for the
Federal District, claimed he had fulfilled all necessary verification and security measures, relying on reports that did not foresee radical actions by Bolsonaro supporters. Since he thought he had fulfilled his duties, he said, he deemed it appropriate to proceed with a planned family trip to the United States, where he stayed in Orlando, the same city as Bolsonaro, with whom he said he had not met nor coordinated his plans. The senator's
Twitter account was also blocked.
O Globo had access to the federal police report, revealing that do Val had boasted in a number of
WhatsApp groups that he had the fate of two presidents of the republic in his hands: "I have a bomb in hand to destroy Bolsonaro and another one to destroy Lula." He also said he was responsible for Bolsonaro taking refuge in the United States after he lost the
2022 election: "I was invited by him [Bolsonaro] to do this. As member of CCAI [Mixed Intelligence Activities Control Commission], I started to wind it up to see how far it would go. When it was about to happen, I informed him that he would be committing a very serious crime against democracy and, from there, I reported it to the responsible authority. It was because of this that he fled to the USA."
Ailton Gomes's audio recordings Audio recordings from 15 December 2022, of former major and
Liberal Party (PL) candidate, Ailton Gomes, record instructions to then-Army Commander
Freire Gomes to do "(...) " (what needs to be done), setting the deadline for the following day for him to make a statement in support of the coup; otherwise, it added, the statement would come from Jair Bolsonaro. The draft was allegedly delivered by Filipe Martins, advisor for international affairs. Its content anticipated the arrest of political opponents and justice Alexandre de Moraes. The plan was allegedly accepted by the commander of the
Brazilian Navy, Admiral
Almir Garnier Santos. However, General
Marco Antônio Freire Gomes of the
Brazilian Army reportedly refused to participate, leading to abandonment. Bolsonaro's defense team has said that the statements are slanderous. In addition to the military, Cid would have said that Bolsonaro received, in meetings at the presidential palace, various people with coup plans that involved, among other things, using a misinterpretation of article 142 of the Federal Constitution to entrust the armed forces with exercising the moderating power. Warned about the risks, the then-president would have assumed the sad expression that marked his first public appearance after the end of the elections.
Reactions The discovery of the draft caused widespread repercussions in Brazilian politics, society, and judiciary. Jurists debated the inherent illegality of possessing of such a document, regardless of its use or the success of its use. Jair Bolsonaro's defense team moved to exclude the document from a parallel investigation of his attempt to discredit the
electoral system. This investigation arose from a speech against the Superior Electoral Court, delivered at a meeting with ambassadors in 2022. The request was denied, and the document remained part of the evidence. On 30 June 2023, a majority at the Superior Electoral Court declared
Jair Bolsonaro ineligible to hold political power until 2030 for his abuse and misuse of communication media during this meeting.
Investigation The Federal Police conducted several forensic examinations and investigations regarding the document to trace its circulation among government authorities, among other purposes. According to information gathered by investigators, the draft reached Bolsonaro's aides, as well as members of his reelection committee. An analysis of the various fingerprints found on the document was carried out by the Federal Police. Efforts were made to trace the printer that originated the document via
documentology, mainly aiming to verify whether the draft originated from a public agency. The forensic technique in use is only effective for tracing medium or large sized printers, and is less accurate for consumer printers.
8 January Parliamentary Inquiry Committee On 26 April 2023, the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate jointly established a
Parliamentary Inquiry Committee to investigate the 8 January attacks. The investigation concluded on 18 October 2023, following the approval of Senator Eliziane Gama’s report by a 20–11 vote, which formally charged 61 individuals, including former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Operation Tempus Veritatis On 8 February 2024, the Federal Police executed thirty-three search and seizure warrants and four preventive detention warrants in Operation
Tempus Veritatis ("time of truth", in Latin). Former special advisor to Bolsonaro, Filipe G. Martins, retired colonel Marcelo Câmara, and major Rafael Martins were arrested. The targets of the search and seizure measures included the president of the Liberal Party,
Valdemar Costa Neto, generals
Braga Netto,
Augusto Heleno, and
Paulo Sérgio Nogueira, Admiral Almir Garnier Santos, former minister
Anderson Torres, and Bolsonaro himself, who had his passport seized. The following day, on 9 February 2024, a video from a meeting held on 5 July 2022 involving Bolsonaro and constituant ministers was released. President Bolsonaro was recorded instructing ministers on the need to act before the elections to avoid a possible "guerrilla" war in Brazil. The video, found on Mauro Cid's computer, was released by journalist Bela Megale, of the newspaper
O Globo. Bolsonaro allegedly ordered the dissemination of fraudulent information to try to reverse the situation in the electoral dispute, alleging supposed electoral frauds that were never proven. The meeting also involved other ministers, including the serving minister of defense, who reportedly stated that the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) was an "enemy" of the Bolsonarist group. The recording is part of an investigation into an attempted coup involving military personnel and former ministers. During the same meeting, the minister of the
Institutional Security Bureau (GSI), General Augusto Heleno, expressed the intention to infiltrate agents from the
Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin) into both Bolsonaro's and Lula da Silva's electoral campaigns. Heleno mentioned the importance of acting before the elections as to avoid possible upheavals, using terms such as "turning the table" and highlighting the need for decisive action before the ballot. President Bolsonaro interrupted Heleno to express concern about leaks and suggested that such matters be discussed in a private meeting.
Operation Counter-coup On 19 November 2024, the Federal Police launched Operation Counter-coup, investigating a plan called "Green and Yellow Dagger", drawn up in 2022 to prevent the inauguration of president-elect Lula da Silva and vice president-elect Alckmin. The plan included the murder of Lula, Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Moraes. Five suspects were arrested, including four Army special forces soldiers– known as "black kids"– and a federal police officer. Notable among the military arrests was the reserve general Mario Fernandes, a former member of the Bolsonaro government and parliamentary adviser to Eduardo Pazuello. The operation also involved searches and seizures, suspension of public functions of those involved and other precautionary measures.
Green and Yellow Dagger plan The investigation found that the plan relied on detailed military tactics, such as clandestine monitoring and illicit use of public resources. According to the investigation, the "Green and Yellow Dagger" plan – which foresaw the assassination of Lula, Alckmin, and Moraes – began to be elaborated on 12 November 2022, at Braga Netto's home, at the time the defeated vice-presidential candidate on the ticket headed by Jair Bolsonaro. Evidence was recovered from the electronic devices of Colonel Mauro Cid, Jair Bolsonaro's former
aide-de-camp. The operation was part of a larger investigation into anti-democratic acts linked to the 2022 elections and the 8 January 2023 attacks, including violations of the rule of law and embezzlement of public assets.
Operation 142 Operation 142 was an action plan devised between November and December 2022 to halt the presidential transition process, prevent Lula da Silva from taking office, annul the 2022 elections and decisions of the Supreme Court (STF), prepare a new vote, extend Bolsonaro's mandate, and replace all members of the Supreme Court. The Federal Police found the operation's planning document at the headquarters of the Liberal Party (PL), on the desk of Colonel Flávio Botelho Peregrino, who was then an aide to Braga Netto. The name of the coup plan refers to the thesis of constitutional military intervention, which misinterprets Article 142 of the 1988 Brazilian Constitution as granting a "moderating power" to the Armed Forces.
Formal accusation by the Federal Police On 21 November 2024, the Federal Police formally accused Bolsonaro and 36 people for an attempt to overthrow Brazil's democratic institutions, which included planning and ordering the assassination of President-elect Lula, Vice-president-elect
Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice
Alexandre de Moraes in 2022 to keep Bolsonaro in power after the legal end of his term. Most of the accused are top ranking Brazilian military officers who were appointed to government positions during Bolsonaro's presidency. The report submitted to the Court by the police stated that Bolsonaro had "full knowledge" about an assassination plot against Lula. That same day, Lula acknowledged that he was thankful that an attempt to "poison" him failed.
Arrest of Braga Netto On 14 December 2024, retired army general Walter Braga Netto, who was also Jair Bolsonario's running mate in the 2022 Brazilian presidential election, was arrested and held in Rio de Janeiro after being accused of hindering an investigation, as well as having a role, in the 2022 coup attempt. Leading up to his arrest, searches were carried out at Braga Netto's residence in Rio de Janeiro and also the home of retired colonel Flavio Botelho Peregrino in Brasília. ==Pro-Bolsonaro demonstrations ==