Brazil's Supreme Court has approved the investigation of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro's role in the January 8 sacking of government buildings in Brasilia.
The decision on Friday followed a request from the office of the prosecutor general, which cited a video Mr Bolsonaro had posted "questioning the regularity of the 2022 presidential elections" that he lost to former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Siva.
By doing so, Mr Bolsonaro "would have publicly incited the commission of a crime," the PGR said.
Thousands of the former president's supporters, known as "bolsonaristas", invaded the seats of government in Brasilia on Sunday, breaking windows and furniture, destroying priceless works of art and leaving behind graffiti messages calling for a military coup.
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A meeting of the University of Sao Paulo Collective in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The collective invited all citizens, social and democratic entities, parties and movements to speak out against supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro who attacked government institutions in Brasilia on Sunday. EPA -
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva meets government ministers and other officials following the riot. Getty Images -
Workers clear debris left by pro-Bolsonaro supporters during the riot. Getty -
Damaged portraits hang in the Brazilian National Congress after the riot, in which more than 1,200 people were detained. Getty -
Damage to the Brazilian National Congress following the riot. Getty -
Workers clear debris after the riot. Getty -
Mr da Silva has called for peace after what he described as a coup attempt. Getty -
Damage to the Brazilian National Congress caused by the riot. Getty -
Agents inspect a room inside Planalto Palace, the office of the President. AP -
Photos of former Brazilian presidents lay scattered on the floor of the lobby of Planalto Palace. AP -
Supporters of Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro demonstrate against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia. Protesters pushed through police barricades and stormed into the Congress, presidential palace and Supreme Court buildings on Sunday. Reuters -
Bolsonaro supporters are detained. Reuters -
The security forces take action as supporters of Jair Bolsonaro demonstrate outside Brazil’s National Congress building in Brasilia. Reuters -
Brazil's Supreme Court building was one of those attacked. AFP -
President Lula da Silva in the presidential palace after it was stormed by supporters of Jair Bolsonaro. AP -
Supporters of Jair Bolsonaro invading several governmental building are confronted by the security forces in Brasilia. AFP -
Members of the security forces confront Bolsonaro supporters. AFP -
The scenes were reminiscent of the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol building by supporters of then-president Donald Trump, an ally of Mr Bolsonaro. Reuters -
The security forces make arrests. AFP -
A supporter of Jair Bolsonaro inside the presidential palace. Reuters -
Hundreds of Bolsonaro backers have refused to accept leftist Mr da Silva's election victory. Reuters -
Some of the demonstrators ransacked offices and smashed windows. Reuters -
Police confront supporters of Jair Bolsonaro invading the presidential palace. EPA -
Some Bolsonao supporters ransacked offices and caused damage. Reuters -
A police vehicle crashes into a fountain as Bolsonaro supporters invade the National Congress building. AFP -
Startling images on social media showed a tide of people storming the national Congress, many waving Brazilian flags. AFP
The Bolsonaro video was posted online two days after the storming of the presidency, Congress and Supreme Court, and later deleted.
The PGR said that even though the video came after the uprising, it may serve as "a probative connection" that justified "a global investigation of the acts performed before and after January 8, 2023 by the defendant".
Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes approved Mr Bolsonaro's inclusion in the probe into what the PGR said was the "instigation and intellectual authorship" of the rioting.
In a note seen by AFP on Friday, Mr Bolsonaro's defence lawyers denied any involvement by the ex-president.
Mr Bolsonaro "never had any relationship or participation in these movements," the note said, blaming the violence on "infiltrators".
Mr Bolsonaro had for years sought to cast doubts on the reliability of Brazil's internationally praised election system, and had suggested he would not accept a defeat.
He never publicly acknowledged Mr da Silva's victory, and left for the United States, where he remains, two days before his successor's inauguration on January 1.
As they move to identify the masterminds and financiers of the violent uprising that invited many parallels with the January 6, 2021 storming of the US Capitol, Brazilian authorities have also tightened the screws on Bolsonaro's last justice minister, Anderson Torres.
Mr Torres, who was also in the United States when the riots happened, was arrested early on Saturday on his return to Brasilia.
The Supreme Court had issued warrant against him for alleged "collusion" with the rioters, and he stands accused of "omission" in his most recent job as security chief for the capital. He was fired after the riots.
Brazil's Federal Police said Mr Torres "was arrested upon landing at Brasilia Airport and sent to custody, where he will remain at the disposal of Justice. The investigation remains confidential."
The Folha de S Paulo daily reported that Mr Torres had made an initial court appearance, and was expected to give testimony next week. He was being held at a military police facility.
Mr da Silva's new Justice Minister, Flavio Dino, on Friday confirmed the discovery at Mr Torres' home of a draft decree proposing emergency steps for the possible "correction" of the October election, which Mr da Silva won by a razor-thin margin.
The draft bears Mr Bolsonaro's name, but Mr Dino said the authorship was unknown. It is not known if it was compiled before or after the election.
He said the document connected the dots between Mr da Silva's October 30 election victory and the January 8 riots.
The President and the Justice Minister have both said the violence could not have happened without collusion from members of the security forces.
Mr Torres said on Twitter that the draft had been taken "out of context" to "feed false narratives" against him.
Mr Torres and Mr Bolsonaro have both denied involvement in the January 8 riots.
With reporting from agencies
