Brazilian police accuse Bolsonaro of falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination records

Authorities in Brazil have accused former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro of fraud, suggesting the former South American general forged his COVID-19 vaccination records.

The ongoing investigation could result in actual criminal charges, according to reports, but so far ,no such charges have actually been filed.

The police investigation stems from a discrepancy between Bolsonaro’s health records and his travel records. While his health records suggest he received the COVID-19 vaccine in Sao Paulo in 2021, his travel records document him as being outside the capital city at the time.

Law enforcement agents investigating Bolsonaro believe the former Brazilian president and eight other people they are probing of having issued “false certificates to obtain undue advantages” during the pandemic.

The vaccination was requirement to enter most countries, including the United States, at the peak of the pandemic.

Bolsonaro, who was on record as having concerns about the COVID-19 vaccination, has insisted that none of  his health records were altered or manipulated in any way.

To date, an estimated 700,000 died in Brazil from COVID-19, according to statistics published by Johns Hopkins University, which has been one of the world’s leading monitors of pandemic deaths.

To date, no charges have been filed, and the decision will most likely fall upon the South American nation’s attorney general, Jorge Messias, who was appointed by newly elected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The 68-year-old former military officer was interrogated by law enforcement last year after police raided his residential home. He was recently forced to surrender his passport as a result of a separate investigation into interference of the 2022 presidential election.

Bolsonaro has so far denied the new police accusations and instead said Brazilian authorities have been conspiring to “fabricate a case” against him, according to a March 19 BBC report.

The Oct. 2, 2022 Brazilian general election was one of the closest presidential contests and hotly contested elections in the South American nation’s recent history, leaving many on the edge of their seats.

Lula da Silva prevailed with 60,345,999 votes, and Bolsonaro attained 58,206,354 votes nationwide.

Bolsonaro initially challenged the results on Nov. 22, asking the Superior Electoral Court to invalidate those votes lacking identification numbers, which were cast by electronic voting machines. The court rejected his request, however.

After Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva was sworn in, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings in the capital city of Brasília, trashing the presidential palace, Congress, and Supreme Court.

The former president was subsequently banned from running for eight years as a result of the allegations he undermined the Brazilian election system, even though there is no evidence of electoral fraud.

Bolsonaro is still barred from running for office for eight years for undermining the electoral system in Brazil and claiming the last election was fraudulent, despite there being no evidence of electoral fraud.

Bolsonaro was in the United States when the Jan. 8 attack in Brasília took place. He returned to his homeland in March 2023, and told his supporters he was unafraid of the consequences.

On Feb. 27, ADN reported that the former chief executive gave a Sunday night speech to thousands of his supporters, the former Brazilian president said he was a victim of political persecution, and accusations he was part of plotting a coup to overthrow his successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, were a “lie.”