Bolsonaro joins anti-lockdown rally, criticizes probe into him

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday joined a rally in Brasilia against the country's lockdown and criticized a probe into him after allegations that he politically interfered in the federal police force.

It came after Brazil's former Minister of Justice and Security Sergio Moro, who made the allegations against the president, submitted messages and audio recordings as evidence on Saturday.

As one of the most popular and powerful figures in Bolsonaro's far-right administration, Moro resigned on April 24 and accused the president of wanting to install a new federal police head who would feed him intelligence reports.

But the appointment of Alexandre Ramagem, director of the Brazilian intelligence agency Abin and also a family friend of Bolsonaro, was dropped at the end of April after the country's top court authorized an investigation into allegations by Moro that the president had abused his power by swapping the police chief.

Supporters of far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro take part in a protest during a motorcade against the president of the Chamber of Deputies Rodrigo Maia, quarantine and social distancing measures, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Brasilia, Brazil May 3, 2020. /Reuters

According to the Brazilian media, besides submitting the back-and-forth messaging record between him and the president, the former justice minister also related how the Brazilian leader has interfered with the federal police's work and hindered their investigations into the president's relatives and allies.

Brazil's Supreme Court will be looking into the case to determine if the stated allegations are true. If it is found that Moro made false allegations, he could face charges of libel and defamation instead.

The top court judge Celso de Mello gave federal police a 60-day window for carrying out the investigation to decide whether criminal charges should be brought against Bolsonaro, starting with Moro's testimony and evidence that he provided.

Brazilian law also says that any criminal charges against the president will require advance approval from the Congress in order to begin an impeachment trial.

In the scenario that Congress agrees to bring criminal charges against Bolsonaro, then he would be temporarily suspended for a maximum of 180 days and hand over duties to the vice president. And he would have to resign if he's found guilty by the Supreme Court.

In a speech to thousands of anti-confinement demonstrators at the rally on Sunday, Bolsonaro also lashed out at state governors for continuing the lockdown, saying it was destroying jobs in the country.

(Cover: Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro signals thumbs-up to his supporters during a protest against his former Minister of Justice Sergio Moro and the Supreme Court, in front of the Planalto presidential palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, May 3, 2020. /AP)