
Bolsonaro denies coup plot as thousands rally in support of former Brazilian leader
CNN
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro led a large rally in São Paulo on Sunday as he defended himself against allegations that he took part in a coup plot in an attempt to stay in power.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday led a large rally of his supporters in São Paulo as he denied allegations that he took part in a coup plot in an attempt to stay in power. Thousands of Bolsonaro’s followers wearing the green and gold of Brazil’s national flag thronged Paulista Avenue, a major thoroughfare in the country’s largest city, in a show of support for the former leader as he faces mounting legal challenges. The far-right populist had called for the protest rally last week on social media platform X, calling it in “defense of the democratic rule of the law.” Bolsonaro faces a Brazilian Federal Police investigation into an alleged attempted coup plot to keep him in power after he lost the 2022 presidential election, his lawyer confirmed in early February. Several former ministers who served in Bolsonaro’s government are also being investigated and some of his aides have been arrested, according to CNN affiliate CNN Brasil. Bolsonaro on Sunday insisted he is being persecuted, without directly mentioning the institutions handling the investigation, CNN Brasil reported.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth risked compromising sensitive military information that could have endangered US troops through his use of Signal to discuss attack plans, a Pentagon watchdog said in an unclassified report released Thursday. It also details how Hegseth declined to cooperate with the probe.

Two top House lawmakers emerged divided along party lines after a private briefing with the military official who oversaw September’s attack on an alleged drug vessel that included a so-called double-tap strike that killed surviving crew members, with a top Democrat calling video of the incident that was shared as part of the briefing “one of the most troubling things” he has seen as a lawmaker.











