Bolsonaro should face 'coup' charges: Brazil congressional report

Brazil: Cong. committee finds ex-Pres. Bolsonaro guilty of attempted coup for Jan. 8 riots. Report calls on prosecutors to charge him with overthrow of rule of law, political violence & conspiracy. Separate case acquitted him of abuse of political power.

A Brazilian congressional committee found on Tuesday former President Jair Bolsonaro should face charges of an attempted coup for his supporters' invasion of the Presidential palace, Supreme Court and legislative headquarters in January.

The committee investigating the January 8 riots in the capital Brasilia wrapped up nearly five months of drama-filled hearings with a final report recommending prosecutors also charge the far-right ex-President with attempting to overthrow the rule of law, political violence and criminal conspiracy.

The report does not legally bind the prosecutor general's office to act. But it is the latest in a raft of legal woes for Mr. Bolsonaro, 68, who is already under investigation for various allegations of corruption and abuse of office.

Mr. Bolsonaro — who was president between 2019 and 2022 — was also barred in June from running for election for eight years, over his unproven fraud allegations against Brazil's electronic voting system.

The January 8 riots deeply shook Brazil, as thousands of Bolsonaro supporters overwhelmed security and trashed the halls of power, calling on the military to oust President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The riots drew inevitable comparisons to the 2021 US Capitol invasion by supporters of Donald Trump, Mr. Bolsonaro's political role model.

Mr. Bolsonaro, who lost to veteran leftist Lula in a divisive election in October 2022, was in the United States at the time, having snubbed his arch-rival's inauguration one week before.