Who in who in the police operation against Jair Bolsonaro and his entourage for the attempted coup

The police operation launched this Thursday in Brazil against the former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022) and his circle for a coup attempt against the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, includes around thirty names, from former ministers to senior military officers. According to the investigation, the federal police executed 33 search warrants and 4 preventive detention orders in a dozen Brazilian states against the coup plot, which before and after the 2022 elections aimed to keep Bolsonaro in power.

These are the main objectives of the operation:

Jair Bolsonaro:

The former president was forced to hand over his passport and banned from contacting other people under investigation by order of the Supreme Court. After losing the election, he refused to recognize the results. He was in the United States during the January 8, 2023 attacks in Brasilia, but police investigations have previously placed him in multiple meetings with advisers and the military to discuss the possibility of a coup. Last June he was disqualified by the Superior Electoral Court for abuse of power, for questioning the electronic ballot boxes used in the elections.

Almir Garnier:

The former Navy commander is the subject of a search warrant. After Bolsonaro’s electoral defeat, the admiral participated in a meeting with the then president in which he expressed himself in favor of a coup d’état, as Bolsonaro’s former aide-de-camp Mauro Cid, cited in the order, confessed to the police of the magistrate. Moraes, head of the investigations.

Walter Braga Netto:

The former chief of staff and defense minister is the subject of a search warrant. A reserve general, he was chosen by Bolsonaro as vice presidential candidate in the 2022 elections. After the defeat, Braga Netto ordered pressure on the military who opposed the coup, according to the Police. Last November he was banned for eight years for abuse of power, converting the Independence Bicentenary commemorations into an electoral event.

Paulo Sergio Nogueira:

Bolsonaro’s last defense minister after the departure of Braga Netto is the subject of a search warrant. After the elections, this general sent a report to the Superior Electoral Tribunal in which he pointed out the alleged “risks” of the electronic ballot system.

Augustus Helenus:

The reserve general is the subject of a search warrant. He was Bolsonaro’s main advisor on security issues. Magistrate Alexandre de Moraes lists him as “responsible for gathering information” that could help Bolsonaro carry out the coup.

Philip Martins:

Bolsonaro’s former adviser on international affairs was one of four suspects detained preventively. De Moraes cites him as the person in charge of delivering to the former president a draft “coup decree” which would then be discussed with the military leaders and other members of the government.

Valdemar Costa Neto:

The former deputy is the subject of a search warrant, according to the local press. He is the president of the Liberal Party, to which Bolsonaro belongs. After the election defeat, the party submitted a report to the electoral court on alleged irregularities at the polls. The court rejected the charges as false and fined the party 22.9 million reais (about $4.6 million).