During an interview with RedeTV network, the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, accused the former president, Jair Bolsonaro, of having planned the attacks perpetrated by thousands of far-right radicals on Jan. 8, 2023.

The President said that the attackers planned to carry out their plan on Jan. 1, the day of his inauguration, but decided to postpone the attacks due to the high presence of police and supporters of Lula in the streets.

A direct accusation

Referring to Bolsonaro as a “citizen," Lula said that he "prepared the coup" and believes that Bolsonaro is still planning yet another coup attempt like the one that targeted several government buildings on Jan. 8.

For its part, the Supreme Court is conducting investigations into the coup attempt, including looking into the former president for his alleged involvement by instigating supporters to carry out the attacks.

Lula also took the opportunity to accuse Bolsonaro of genocide charges, recalling episodes of denied vaccines, and the humanitarian crisis experienced by the Yanomami Indigenous people.

Nesta quinta-feira (02), Kennedy Alencar estreia o programa 'É Notícia' com uma entrevista exclusiva com o presidente Luís Inácio 'Lula' da Silva. A partir das 23h15 você confere a entrevista na tela da RedeTV!, não perca. #ÉNotícia pic.twitter.com/rE1Xk0dPIJ

— RedeTV! (@RedeTV) February 1, 2023

The accusations didn't stop there

Lula is just the latest Brazilian public official to level accusations at Bolsonaro. Senator Marcos do Val, close to the former president, also alleged on social media that Bolsonaro attempted to convince him to take part in the coup.

According to CNN, the conversation happened in a meeting held last December to annul the results of the 2022 presidential elections, which gave victory to Lula.

The indictments offer information about a private meeting held on Dec. 9 and organized by Bolsonaro and then-congressman Daniel Silveira, in which a plan to discredit the elections was proposed.

Do Val, who said he was told to incite the judge to say things that would raise doubts about the validity of the vote and the neutrality of the electoral tribunal, stressed that although Bolsonaro did not speak during the meeting, his silence gave the impression that there was an agreement. 

Silveira, a former police officer whose term in Congress ended this week, was arrested Thursday on unrelated charges after allegedly failing to comply with court orders and tampering with his electronic ankle monitor, the result of a 2021 conviction for undemocratic acts.

Neither Bolsonaro's office nor Silveira's legal team responded to CNN's request for comment.

For his part, the president of the Superior Electoral Court and Supreme Court judge, Alexandre de Moraes, who is in charge of the investigation into the riots of Jan. 8, ordered do Val to make a statement to the Federal Police within five days, according to a document from the Supreme Court.