Supporters of Brazil's Bolsonaro stage huge demonstration to defend him amid investigations

BY FELIPE CAMPOS MELLO AND MAURICIO SAVARESE
Updated 7:28 PM CST, February 25, 2024

SAO PAULO (AP) — Supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro staged a huge rally jamming a main avenue in Brazil’s biggest city Sunday to defend him against legal challenges that could put him in jail.

The far-right leader said in a speech that he seeks “pacification to erase the past,” taking a more conciliatory tone than when he was in office.

Bolsonaro is seeking to show his base is resilient as he is being investigated by federal police over his alleged role in the Jan. 8, 2023, attacks on government buildings by his supporters over his election loss. He wants the dozens of people still in jail for those incidents to get pardons.

His supporters filled blocks of the city’s Paulista Avenue. Independent observers from a research group at the University of Sao Paulo estimated 185,000 people joined in. Brazil’s military police put the crowd size even bigger.

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