Bolsonaro denies involvement in alleged coup plot

Brazil's erstwhile President Jair Bolsonaro has denied his engagement successful an alleged crippled to overthrow the country's existent president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Speaking for the archetypal clip successful court, Bolsonaro, who ruled the state betwixt 2019 and 2022, said a coup was an "abominable thing" and determination was "never adjacent a anticipation of a coup successful my government".

Along with 7 "co-conspirators", the 70-year-old is lasting proceedings implicit the events which led up to the storming of authorities buildings by his supporters connected 8 January 2023, a week aft Lula's inauguration.

The erstwhile president could look decades successful situation if helium is convicted. He has ever denied the charges against him.

Questioned by Judge Alexandre de Moraes successful tribunal connected Tuesday astir the alleged complaint of plotting a coup, Bolsonaro said the complaint "does not hold, your Excellency".

Speaking later, helium said: "I lone person 1 happening to affirm to your excellency: connected my part, connected the portion of subject commanders, determination has ne'er been speech of a coup. A coup is an abominable thing."

"Brazil couldn't spell done an acquisition similar that. And determination was ne'er adjacent the anticipation of a coup successful my government," helium added.

Bolsonaro narrowly mislaid the statesmanlike predetermination to Lula successful 2022.

Following Lula's victory, Bolsonaro ramped up mendacious claims that determination had been faults with physics voting machines successful the run-up to the election.

The prosecution alleged Bolsonaro's claims of elector fraud started arsenic aboriginal arsenic 2021 arsenic a pretext that could beryllium utilized to question a imaginable decision successful the 2022 election.

Responding successful court, Bolsonaro said helium wasn't the lone idiosyncratic who distrusts physics elector machines and said helium had acted wrong the rules of the constitution.

"Many times I rebelled, I swear. But, successful my opinion, I did what had to beryllium done," helium told the tribunal connected Tuesday.

Bolsonaro is the sixth suspect to instrumentality the basal since the proceedings started successful May.

The 8 defendants are accused of 5 charges, which see attempting to signifier a coup, engagement successful an equipped transgression organisation, attempted convulsive abolition of the antiauthoritarian regularisation of law, aggravated harm and deterioration of listed heritage.

Most person truthful acold denied the charges against them.

Bolsonaro, a erstwhile service skipper and admirer of US President Donald Trump, governed Brazil from January 2019 to December 2022.

He narrowly mislaid a statesmanlike predetermination run-off successful October 2022 to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Bolsonaro ne'er publically acknowledged his defeat. Many of his supporters spent weeks camping extracurricular service barracks successful an effort to person the subject to forestall Lula from being sworn successful arsenic president arsenic scheduled connected 1 January 2023.

A week aft Lula's inauguration, connected 8 January 2023, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed authorities buildings successful the capital, Brasilia, successful what national investigators accidental was an attempted coup.

Bolsonaro was successful the United States astatine the clip and has ever denied immoderate links to the rioters.

He has already been barred from moving for nationalist bureau until 2030 for falsely claiming that Brazil's voting strategy was susceptible to fraud, but helium has declared his volition to combat that prohibition truthful that helium tin tally for a 2nd word successful 2026.