Brasilia, Brazil:

Former commanders of Brazil’s army and air force told police investigators that President Jair Bolsonaro twice summoned them to meetings to discuss a possible coup after his defeat in the 2022 election, according to testimony released by the Supreme Court on Friday.

Their narrative puts Bolsonaro at the center of a plot to declare martial law and prevent leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from coming to power after winning elections that year.

Despite mounting evidence to the contrary, Bolsonaro denied attempting a coup in the days after his election defeat, and he has never admitted it. He traveled to the United States to avoid handing the presidential belt to Lula. Days later, his supporters entered government buildings in an attempt to instigate a coup.

Bolsonaro’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Former army chief Marco Antonio Freire Gomez and air force chief Carlos de Almeida Baptista said in testimony that they both told Bolsonaro they would not support the coup , thereby eliminating any military support for the then-President’s plans.

Both military chiefs implicated Navy Commander Almir Garnier Santos in the coup plot. In several meetings, the admiral said the navy was prepared to support Bolsonaro in a military uprising, they said.

Garnier Santos has not yet spoken publicly about the federal police investigation conducted under instructions from the Supreme Court.

A police source told Reuters that in addition to the two military commanders, police also had testimonies from three other witnesses who directly implicated Bolsonaro as the main conspirator behind the attempted coup.

The investigation will detail the chronology of Bolsonaro’s attempts to organize a coup with members of his government, including active and retired military officers, said the source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case.

Military commanders said the meeting with Bolsonaro took place at the presidential palace.

Freire Gomez said in his testimony that Bolsonaro submitted a draft decree declaring a state of martial law. The retired general said it was the same draft text police found on the computer of Bolsonaro aide Mauro Seed, who has been arrested and has reached a plea deal with authorities.

The two commanders were summoned to a third meeting with then-Defence Minister Paulo Sergio Nogueira to discuss the draft decree. They testified that when they asked the minister whether the text suggested President-elect Lula would be barred from taking office, Nogueira did not answer.

They then refused to consider the text of the decree.

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