Financial news

Brazil police arrest former justice minister over alleged January 8 riots involvement – JURIST

Brazilian federal police Saturday said in a statement that former Secretary of Public Security for the Federal District of Brasilia Anderson Torres has been arrested at Brasilia airport. The police said they were acting on an arrest warrant issued by the federal supreme court.Minister Alexandre de Moraes of the federal supreme court opened an investigation into Torres’s role as a public security official during the January 8 storming of Brazil’s Congress, presidential palace, and Supreme Court. Moraes levied allegations of “omission and connivance” of public authorities involved in security and intelligence. Moraes said the lapses in security due to omission were potentially criminal.Torres was the former justice minister in Jair Bolsanaro’s cabinet and a key ally. Torres denied any involvement in the rights, stating that he has a “clear conscience.”Moraes also authorized the inclusion of former president Jair Bolsanaro in the investigation into the January 8 storming. The attorney general’s office maintained that the inclusion served as an inquiry into Bolsanaro’s alleged role in inciting the attack through various false statements made by him and circulated on social media.Moraes granted the following requests of the office regarding the investigation:The dispatch of an official letter to the company Meta so that it preserves the posted and deleted video, in addition to metadata and information about its scope, for later delivery; the hearing of specialists in political communication from extremist movements to assess potential effects of posts of this nature; and the hearing of specialists in monitoring groups of Bolsonaro supporters on social networks and on whatsapp and telegram platforms, in order to gather evidence of the possible impact of the video.However, Moraes postponed the request to interrogate Bolsanaro, since the former president is in the US.Bolsanaro supporters stormed the premises of the three arms of the Brazilian government on January 8, inviting widespread condemnation by public figures around the world in what was perceived to be a potential coup.