The dizzying array of legal threats to Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro

By MAURICIO SAVARESE and DAVID BILLER
Updated 4:38 PM CST, November 21, 2024

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro has been a target for investigations since his early days in office, and the swarm of cases since his failed reelection bid in 2022 has left him in ever-deeper legal jeopardy.

In the latest indictment Thursday, he was accused of attempting a coup to keep himself in the presidency. In another case, the electoral court ruled the far-right leader ineligible to run for office until 2030.

There are dozens of other probes that could produce criminal charges at low-level courts, where he could appeal any eventual conviction. But the country’s Supreme Court will have the final say regarding more than five in-depth investigations, including into the alleged coup attempt, which could land the former president behind bars or under house arrest.

Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing in all of the cases, and his allies have alleged they are political persecution, while recognizing the severity of the legal risks on multiple fronts.

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