Jair Bolsonaro, the former president of Brazil, was accused on Tuesday of overseeing a massive scheme to try to undermine his nation's confidence in the 2022 election and then annul the vote even when his allies could not find evidence of fraud.

Brazil's attorney general, Paulo Gonçalves Branco, alleges that Bolsonaro and 33 others participated in a series of crimes against Brazilian democracy and in a coup plot to stay in power despite defeat by incumbent President Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro was among 34 people facing charges, including those of armed criminal organization, attempting to forcibly abolish the democratic rule of law, coup d'état and damage caused by violence.

In November, Bolsonaro and 36 others were put on trial as part of an investigation into an alleged coup plot following the defeat of his successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in the 2022 presidential election. If the charges are officially accepted by the Supreme Court, Bolsonaro and 33 others will become official defendants.

To prevent the case from affecting Brazil's 2026 presidential election, Supreme Court judges are pushing to conclude the trial before the end of 2025, but it is unlikely that the court will announce its decision on whether to take the case or schedule preliminary hearings before early March.

In an 844-page indictment in November, federal police accused Bolsonaro of having "full knowledge" of an alleged coup plot to prevent Lula from taking office, adding that the former president "planned, acted upon and directly and effectively led" the plot.

Bolsonaro denies any involvement, telling Brazilian magazine Veja that he “never agreed to any plan.” He was banned from holding any political office in Brazil until 2030. By order of a judge on Brazil’s Supreme Court, he surrendered his passport in February 2024.