BRAZIL – Brazil’s Federal Police on Saturday arrested a former member of former President Jair Bolsonaro’s Cabinet and his 2022 running mate in connection with investigations into an alleged coup plot, the Supreme Court said in a statement. General Walter Braga Netto was formally accused in November, along with Bolsonaro and 35 others, of plotting a coup to keep Bolsonaro in office following his failed 2022 reelection bid. Prosecutors have yet to file formal charges against Braga Netto. The arrest made on Saturday stemmed from allegations of obstructing the collection of evidence, the Federal Police said in a statement. The arrest request was authorized by the Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, with a favorable assessment from the prosecutor-general’s office.

A court statement said police formally requested the general to be preventively detained because its agents identified “robust evidence” that he sought to discover what a former Bolsonaro aide, who signed a plea bargain, was telling authorities. Authorities also executed search and seizure warrants against Braga Netto and his aide, Col. Flávio Botelho Peregrino. (Jamaica-Gleaner)

Photo: Former President Jair Bolsonar. (AP)