Brazil.. the arrest of the Minister of Justice during the Bolsonaro era

Anderson Torres, former Brazilian justice minister under President Jair Bolsonaro, was arrested today, Saturday, at Brasilia airport, as part of the investigation into the January 8 attack on national institutions in the capital, local media reported.

Torres was arrested upon returning by plane from the United States to stand trial. He is suspected of complicity with the rioters , but he maintains his innocence.

Police searched Torres' home last Tuesday

This comes as a Brazilian Supreme Court judge yesterday authorized an investigation into whether Bolsonaro incited the January 8 riots in the country's capital, as part of a broader campaign to hold responsible parties accountable.

According to the text of his ruling, Judge Alexandre de Moraes granted the request from the public prosecutor's office, which cited a video that Bolsonaro posted on Facebook two days after the riot.

The clip alleged that current Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was not voted into office, but rather was chosen by the Supreme Court and Brazil's electoral authority.

Riots in Brasilia on January 8

Prosecutors – members of the newly formed group to combat anti-democratic actions – argued earlier Friday that although Bolsonaro released the video after the riots, its content was sufficient to warrant an investigation into his conduct in advance.

Bolsonaro deleted the video the next morning after first posting it.

Otherwise, Bolsonaro has refrained from commenting on the election since his defeat on Oct. 30. He raised doubts about the reliability of the electronic voting system in the run-up to the election and subsequently applied for the annulment of millions of ballots that had been cast using machines.