Brazilian judge orders police to question Bolsonaro over uprising

SAO PAULO — A Brazilian Supreme Court judge on Friday ordered federal police to take a statement from former President Jair Bolsonaro as part of an investigation into the Jan. 8 attacks on government buildings in the capital.

Judge Alexandre de Moraes gave the federal police 10 days to question the former president, following the request of the Attorney General’s Office.

Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed the presidential palace, the Supreme Court and Congress a week into President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s third term in office.

The leftist Lula narrowly defeated the far-right Bolsonaro in the second round of the October election. Bolsonaro has never specifically acknowledged that he lost the election and sought to cast doubt on Brazil’s electronic voting system.

Bolsonaro was in Florida at the time of the attacks, but prosecutors want to know whether he encouraged his supporters to wreak havoc. Hundreds are in prison awaiting trial, but hundreds have been released.

The former president’s legal troubles have escalated since leaving office, and other investigations are ongoing, including one involving three undeclared sets of diamond jewelry he received from Saudi Arabia during his tenure.

In all cases, Bolsonaro denied that he had committed any kind of violation.