Sources in the police said that Brazil’s Federal Police would present a formal accusation on Thursday against former president Jair Bolsonaro as part of their investigation into an alleged coup plot after he lost 2022 elections.

The police report is the culmination of nearly two years’ speculation on Bolsonaro’s role in the movement to deny the results of the elections. This movement culminated in riots in Brasilia, the capital city in January 2023. These riots were sparked by Bolsonaro’s supporters a week after Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva became president. Many protesters claimed they were trying to cause chaos in order to justify a coup d’état.

Police say that some of the alleged conspirators planned to assassinate Lula even before he was elected. One police source claimed that investigators had found evidence Bolsonaro knew about the alleged plot.

Bolsonaro denied wrongdoing, and called the investigation a political persecution. His lawyer told Reuters he will wait until he sees the report before making any comments.

Bolsonaro would suffer a new blow if formal police accusations were made against him. He had planned to run for President in 2026. Bolsonaro’s allies were encouraged by the recent win of Donald Trump, the U.S. president-elect. They are trying to overturn the court ruling that barred him from holding public office because he questioned the validity of the vote in 2022.

The office of the Prosecutor General will decide if Bolsonaro, and any former aides involved in the investigation, should be charged after the police report is presented to Brazil’s Supreme Court.

One anonymous police source told Reuters that the police investigation would point out Bolsonaro’s role as a key actor in the conspiracy, and will seek to hold Bolsonaro criminally liable for his violent attempt to overthrow democracy.

Sources said that senior members of Bolsonaro’s government, including his running mate for 2022, retired General Walter Braga Netto who was Defense Minister, and retired general Augusto Heleno who was National Security Advisor, will also be implicated.

Heleno’s attorney declined to comment and a Braga Netto representative did not respond to comments immediately.

This Week’s Arrests

Five people were arrested on Tuesday by the police for suspected involvement in an assassination attempt against Lula and Geraldo Alckmin days before their election.

Lula said that he is lucky to still be alive when addressing the president at the palace on Thursday. He said, “The poisoning attempt on me and Alckmin failed and we’re here.”

In the arrests on Tuesday, retired Brigadier-General Mario Fernandes was arrested. He had previously served as Bolsonaro’s deputy minister. The police said that they had found a document describing the plan, which was printed at the palace.

Police sources confirmed that investigators confirmed Bolsonaro’s presence at the palace during the printing of the document, and had identified conversations among his associates which suggested the former president knew about the plot.

Three active duty police officers were arrested on Tuesday. They had received special forces training. Bolsonaro is a politician of hard right who was formerly an army captain. He filled his top government ranks with military officers.

Bolsonaro has never acknowledged his electoral defeat in October 2022 and left Brazil just days before Lula was inaugurated for Florida.

He returned to Brazil, surrendered his passport, and police began investigating his involvement in the riots that erupted during the capital, when supporters vandalized and stormed the Supreme Court and Congress, as well as the executive presidential palace.

In early 2018, the federal police concluded separate criminal investigations of Bolsonaro, his associates and others, accusing them formally of altering COVID-19 vaccine cards while they were in office, and of embezzling jewellery gifted by Saudi Arabia. In both cases, he denied any wrongdoing.

Persons close to Brazil’s Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet have said that he will likely consider the results of the three investigations targeting the former President before making a final decision about presenting charges. There is no deadline for this.