Former Justice Minister Arrested in Bolsonaro’s Government

The former Minister of Justice during the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro, Anderson Torres, was arrested by the Federal Police on Saturday morning, after arriving in Brasilia on a flight from Florida, United States (USA).

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His remand in custody was decreed on Tuesday by Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court, at the request of the Federal Police.

On his occasion, Moraes said that there are indications that there may have been omission and connivance of the security authorities of Brasília (Federal District) with the bolsonarista invaders.

Torres, who was head of the Federal Police and held the position of Secretary of Public Security of the Federal District at the time of the invasions to the headquarters of the three branches of the Brazilian State, denied it.

Torres, who was Minister of Justice until December 31, 2022, said he regrets "deeply that absurd hypotheses of any connivance of mine with the barbarities we witnessed" are raised.

On Tuesday, the Federal Police seized a draft in Anderson Torres' house that would decree a state of emergency in the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) to change the result of the 2022 elections, won by the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Torres took over as Public Security Secretary of Brasília on January 2 and five days later went on vacation to the United States, so he was not in the country at the time of the attacks by far-right radicals.

Upon learning of the magistrate's decision, the former minister announced that he would return to the country to be in the hands of Justice and prove his innocence, since he alleges that there was a contingency plan in case of violent acts during the Bolsonarista marches.