Federal authorities in Brazil arrested Anderson Torres on a Saturday, a former justice minister under President Jair Bolsonaro, as part of the investigation into the coup attempt against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Official sources confirmed the detention order and subsequent arrest.
The former minister was apprehended by police at Brasilia International Airport after arriving from Miami, according to statements made to the press by his legal team.
Torres previously held the post of Security Secretary for the Federal District of Brazil, a period marked by a violent raid in which thousands of radical Bolsonaristas breached government buildings, including the convention center, the Supreme Court, and the presidential palace, events that occurred the prior Sunday.
His flight from the United States landed in Brasilia around 7:30 local time, with Federal Police awaiting him at the capital’s airport.
An arrest warrant had been issued for the former official the day prior, and the Supreme Court magistrate, Alexandre de Moraes, fully upheld the decision based on alleged negligence and involvement within the events surrounding the protests.
Torres left Brazil on vacation on January 2, heading to the United States five days later, which placed him outside the country during the attacks by far-right demonstrators.
Following the magistrate’s ruling, Torres stated his intent to return to Brazil and surrender to the authorities, claiming he would prove his innocence and that a contingency plan existed if violent acts by Bolsonaristas became known.
In a public post, he expressed faith in Brazilian justice and the strength of institutions, insisting the truth would prevail.
The day before, Justice Minister Flavio Dino indicated that if Torres did not return by Monday, the government would pursue extradition measures to bring him back to face charges.
Beyond the arrest, Moraes conducted a search of Torres’s residence, where authorities reportedly found a draft decree that proposed intervention in the Supreme Electoral Court to influence the presidential election outcome, which Lula defeated Bolsonaro by a narrow margin of 1.8 percent.
Torres’s camp claimed the alleged document was seized while he was away and argued that it was taken out of context, fueling misinformation about his role in the matter.
Amid the political turmoil, Bolsonaristas continued to protest in front of the Army headquarters in Brasilia for months, resulting in the detention of more than 1,800 people and triggering investigations into politicians and business figures accused of funding the demonstrations.