Brazil charges Bolsonaro with attempting a coup after 2022 election loss

Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's former president, was charged Tuesday with overseeing a vast scheme to try to undermine his nation's trust in the 2022 elections and then overturn that vote even after his allies could not find evidence of fraud after he lost.

Brazil's attorney general, Paulo Gonet Branco, indicted Bolsonaro and 33 other people, accusing them of a series of crimes against Brazil's democracy. The charges essentially adopt recommendations from Brazil's federal police made in November.

The case will now go before Brazil's Supreme Court, which will decide whether to order Bolsonaro's arrest and have him face trial. If convicted, he could face 12 to 40 years in prison, according to the indictment, though political analysts expect any sentence to be shorter.

In an interview last month, Bolsonaro denied accusations that he planned a coup, saying he had legally questioned a flawed election system and explored ways in the constitution to remedy what he saw as a dubious result. His lawyer had no immediate comment Tuesday.

The charges are the latest chapter in a yearslong saga for Brazil that has included Bolsonaro's discrediting of the nation's voting systems, a tense election in which Bolsonaro never fully accepted defeat, an invasion of Brazil's halls of power by Bolsonaro's supporters and a high-profile investigation that has already led to the imprisonment of Bolsonaro's running mate.

Now Brazilians may witness a televised Supreme Court trial that could end up making Bolsonaro their third president in the past eight years to be sent to prison.

That would provide a striking contrast with the United States. Bolsonaro and President Donald Trump -- political allies who have long mirrored each other -- have both now been indicted on charges of pushing to overturn elections. But Trump's case was dropped as he returned to power, while Bolsonaro is at perhaps his weakest political point yet.

Brazil's electoral court has already ruled that Bolsonaro is ineligible to run in Brazil's presidential election next year. The attorney general is weighing two other criminal cases against him. And the Supreme Court justice set to oversee his coup case is arguably his political archrival.

While the US Supreme Court ruled that Trump was largely immune from prosecution for his actions as president, Brazil's Supreme Court has acted aggressively against Bolsonaro and his right-wing movement.

The court has overseen investigations, ordered arrests and censored many of Bolsonaro's supporters on social media, arguing that the anti-democratic actions of his movement required an extraordinary response. Now the 11 high court justices could decide Bolsonaro's fate.

"In a republic, all can be held accountable," Gonet Branco wrote in a 17-page introduction attached to the indictment. "The president of the republic does not escape this rule."