The noose is tightening around Jair Bolsonaro. The former Brazilian president was indicted on Tuesday, February 18, for an alleged "coup d'état" plan aimed at preventing his successor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (known as Lula) from returning to power after the 2022 election.

The announcement was made in the evening, with the prosecution detailing in a statement the indictment of the former far-right leader (2019-2022) and 33 other suspects "accused of having incited and carried out acts contrary to the three powers and the democratic rule of law."

The indictment justifying the charges has been submitted to the Supreme Court, which must now decide whether to open a trial.

According to the prosecution, this alleged conspiracy "had as leaders the president (Bolsonaro) and his vice-presidential candidate (Walter Braga Netto), who, allied with other individuals, civilians and military, attempted to prevent, in a coordinated manner, the result of the 2022 presidential election from being applied."

"The investigations revealed that the coup plan contemplated the death of the elected president and vice president, as well as a Supreme Court judge. This plan had the consent of President Bolsonaro," the prosecutor's office said.

An allusion to a triple assassination plan called "Operation Green and Yellow Dagger" (the colors of the Brazilian flag), was to be carried out, according to investigators, by members of the army's special forces, after Lula's electoral victory at the end of October 2022 and before his inauguration on January 1, 2023.

The indictment is based on a federal police investigation report that found the former Brazilian president "planned (...) and took direct part" in the alleged coup plot.

The project failed "due to circumstances beyond its control," including a lack of support from senior Brazilian military officials, according to the 800-page report, which presents evidence gathered during two years of investigation.

An "empty accusation" according to the entourage of the ex-president

The report also mentions the former president's alleged involvement in the drafting of a decree that would have justified the declaration of a state of siege to annul the election won against him by Lula at the end of October 2022.

This decree provided, among other things, according to investigators, the calling of new elections and the detention of Judge Alexandre de Moraes, then president of the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE).

A "last attempt" at a coup took place on January 8, during the Brasilia riots, when thousands of Bolsonaristas ransacked the places of power in Brasilia, a week after Lula's inauguration, the prosecutor's office stressed.

They were "encouraged" by the former president and other members of the alleged conspiracy.

"The attempted coup in empty public buildings has turned into an empty accusation, without any evidence against Bolsonaro," reacted his eldest son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, on the social network X.

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"I am not at all worried about these accusations," the former president told reporters Tuesday after lunch with opposition leaders in Brasilia, hours before his indictment was announced.

Banned from leaving Brazil since February, Jair Bolsonaro, 69, is ineligible until 2030 for disinformation about the electronic ballot box system used in the last election.

However, he hopes to have this conviction overturned in order to run for president in 2026, against Lula, whose popularity is on the decline, according to a poll published last week by the leading institute Datafolha.

In December, federal police arrested Jair Bolsonaro's former defense minister, Walter Braga Netto, on charges of obstructing the investigation. He is among 34 suspects charged on Tuesday.

General Augusto Heleno, who as Minister of the Institutional Security Cabinet was considered the eminence grise of President Bolsonaro, is also targeted. As is Alexandre Ramagem, his head of intelligence services at the time.