Brazil's former Justice Minister Anderson Torres has been arrested in connection with a Jan. 8 attack on government buildings by supporters of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro. According to Reuters, the official who was responsible for ensuring public safety in the capital, the city of Brasilia, is suspected of negligence.
Torres was taken into custody when he returned from a vacation in Florida. A warrant for his arrest was issued on January 10, and the house of the official was searched. Justice Minister Flavio Dinu gave Torres until Monday, January 16, to return to the country voluntarily, threatening to start extradition proceedings otherwise.
The head of the Federal Police, Andrei Rodriguez, said earlier that "omissions" made by those responsible for public safety contributed to the commission of "terrorist acts". In his opinion, these "omissions" could be intentional. The police also said that during a search of Torres, they found a document proposing to review the results of the presidential elections held in October, which Bolsonaro lost.
On January 8, supporters of the former president broke into the National Congress and the Supreme Court, as well as the presidential palace, demanding the resignation of the current head of state, Lula da Silva. The protesters claimed that the election results were rigged. During the riots, the police arrested more than 400 people.
Jair Bolsonaro himself is in Florida, USA, where he left after the elections.