Anderson Torres, who served as justice minister under Jair Bolsonaro and had a brief stint as the top security official in the federal capital Brasília, was arrested by federal marshals on Saturday morning.
Mr. Torres was in Florida on vacation while the riots unfolded and returned to Brazil in order to turn himself in. The current justice minister, Flávio Dino, had said the Brazilian government would request Mr. Torres’s extradition had he failed to surrender by Monday.
Mr. Torres voluntarily surrendered to the police four days after the issuance of an arrest order against him on Tuesday. He is accused of intentionally omitting himself from his duty to plan a security response that would prevent a pro-Bolsonaro rally from descending into a riot, during which far-right mobs stormed and ransacked government buildings without much resistance from the local police.
Despite busloads of radicals arriving in Brasília, local authorities did precious little to keep them out of Three Powers Square — the heart of government in Brasília. While the riots unfolded, Mr. Torres was in Florida on vacation — where Mr. Bolsonaro has been lodged since December 30. He defended himself by saying he that “hadn’t gone on vacation for a long time.”
His legal status was complicated further on Thursday, after the Federal Police search of his home found a draft decree which would have placed the electoral courts under a state of emergency and overturned the presidential election.
While the decree was never issued, the fact that Mr. Torres had it in his possession could be evidence of a seditious conspiracy.
Federal authorities have engaged in a swift and firm response to Sunday’s riots, which includes placing former President Jair Bolsonaro under investigation for allegedly inciting the riots.
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