Seven high-ranking members of the Brasilia police force were arrested Friday over allegations they abetted supporters of far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro who rioted in the seat of power in the Brazilian capital in January.
Prosecutors accused those arrested of dereliction of duty and participating in an attempted coup, saying they not only ignored prior intelligence on the planned invasions but shared the rioters' aim of ousting President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and returning Bolsonaro to power.
Those arrested include the then-commander and deputy commander of the capital's military police force.
Prosecutors said in a statement the arrested officials had effectively "joined the protesters" and been "derelict in their duties to protect and safeguard," warning the investigation had found evidence of "deep ideological contamination" within the police.
Pro-Bolsonaro protesters invaded the presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court in Brasilia on January 8, calling for a military intervention to oust Lula, the veteran leftist who defeated Bolsonaro in a divisive election last October.
Thousands of rioters trashed the three buildings, smashing windows, throwing furniture into fountains, damaging priceless artworks and turning the Congressional speaker's dais into a slide.
Police commanders in the capital "had themselves shared messages promoting a coup at least since the elections," prosecutors said.
"The disinformation that circulated among the high command of the capital district's military police showed an expectation that there would be a mass mobilization to maintain Bolsonaro in power, in defiance of the election result," the lead prosecutor on the case, Carlos Frederico Santos, said in the statement.
Authorities have arrested hundreds of suspects over the January 8 riots.
Bolsonaro, who was in the United States at the time, is himself under investigation over whether he played a role -- one of numerous legal headaches facing the former president.
He has also been barred from running for office for eight years in connection with his unproven claims of widespread fraud in the voting system.
He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, calling himself a victim of political persecution.
