Anderson Torres, a former minister of justice and public security in Brazil, has been detained on suspicion of “omission” and “connivance” in last week’s takeover of federal facilities in Brasilia. After returning to Brazil on Saturday from a vacation in Florida, where Bolsonaro had also gone after losing the election to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Torres, the former right-wing president’s justice minister, was taken into custody.
On Thursday, the ex-minister claimed that the material gathered by police during this week’s raid on his residence had been taken out of context. On Tuesday, Justice Alexandre de Moraes of Brazil’s Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant for Torres. Moraes mentioned claimed “omission” and “connivance” by Torres, but it was unclear what the allegations were at first. Flavio Dino, Brazil’s new justice minister, has warned that Torres has until Monday to return to Brazil or face extradition. After learning of Moraes’ arrest order on Tuesday, Torres announced on Twitter that he will cut short his vacation and return to Brazil to give himself in. A draught order recommending emergency actions for the prospective “correction” of the October election, which Lula won by a razor-thin margin, was discovered at Torres’ residence, as Dino also verified. Bolsonaro’s name may be seen at the end of the draught decree, which is undated and unsigned. Dino, however, claimed that they didn’t know who wrote it. A draught of the document has been used “out of context” to “fuel false narratives” against Torres, he tweeted, adding that the document was “likely” part of a pile of files that were supposed to be burned. Thousands of “Bolsonaristas” invaded government buildings last week, smashing precious artwork and shattering windows in the process. They also left graffiti asking for a military coup. As a result of these allegations, the Supreme Court has consented to launch an investigation into Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro will be investigated by prosecutors for “instigation and intellectual authorship of the anti-democratic activities that culminated in destruction and violence in Brasilia last Sunday,” according to a statement released by the top public prosecutor’s office on Friday. A formal acknowledgement of Lula’s win was never made by Bolsonaro, and he departed for the United States two days before Lula’s inauguration, where he now resides.
