RIO DE JANEIRO - Federal police arrested Brazil’s former defence minister Walter Souza Braga Netto on Saturday, two sources told Reuters, after he was accused in November of plotting a coup to overturn the results of the 2022 election.
Braga Netto also served as chief of staff for former president Jair Bolsonaro and ran alongside him for the post of vice president in Bolsonaro’s failed re-election bid in 2022.
In a statement that did not name Braga Netto, federal police said they had served an arrest warrant, two search and seizure warrants and a precautionary measure other than arrest against individuals who were allegedly hindering investigations.
Braga Netto, a retired army general, was accused by federal police alongside Bolsonaro, former government ministers and former commanders of the Armed Forces of plotting a coup in 2022, after the far-right former president lost that year’s election to the current president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Braga Netto was accused of being one of the main influencers and organisers of the coup attempt to prevent Lula’s inauguration.
Braga Netto could not be reached for comment, but has in the past denied any wrongdoing.