Former Brazilian military officials claim Bolsonaro sought to overturn election results through a coup attempt.

In newly released judicial documents, two former high-ranking military officials have revealed that former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro sought to orchestrate a coup d’état following his defeat in the October 2022 presidential election. Testimonies from Marco Antônio Freire Gomes, the former army commander, and Carlos Baptista Júnior, the former air force commander, detail meetings in December 2022 where Bolsonaro allegedly presented a plan to overturn the election results, which saw Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva emerge victorious.

The testimonies, made public by the Supreme Court, mark the first time that Bolsonaro has been directly implicated in attempting to retain power after his electoral loss. Both former military commanders stated that they tried to persuade Bolsonaro to abandon these plans.