Jair Bolsonaro ordered to face questioning over Brazil riots
- The ex-president is accused of inciting his supporters, who stormed the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court in January
- The rioters were seeking the ousting of Lula da Silva, who narrowly beat Bolsonaro in a brutal, divisive election just months before
A Supreme Court judge in Brazil on Friday ordered former president Jair Bolsonaro to face questioning over riots in the seat of power by his supporters on January 8 – the latest legal quagmire for the far-right leader.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes ruled Bolsonaro had to appear before federal police within 10 days to answer questions over accusations he incited the rioters, who invaded the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court calling for the ousting of leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
“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,” Moraes wrote in the ruling, obtained by Agence France-Presse.
Moraes had previously ruled on January 13 that Bolsonaro be placed under investigation in the case. But he had postponed a ruling on the request by prosecutors for Bolsonaro to be questioned, as the ex-president was in the US state of Florida at the time.
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Bolsonaro supporters storm Brazil’s Congress and presidential palace
Bolsonaro left for Orlando in the final days of his term, after refusing to concede his defeat to Lula at the polls.