Man investigated for attempted coup arrested on border with Argentina

The Brazilian Federal Police on Sunday (Dec. 22) arrested José Acácio Serere Xavante, an indigenous man investigated by the Supreme Court for anti-democratic conduct. He was on the run and was held on the border between Brazil and Argentina. The arrest warrant was signed by Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

Xavante was taken to a police station in Foz do Iguaçu and will undergo a custody hearing on Monday (23). He is accused of promoting anti-democratic conduct at the end of 2022, after the election results, in various locations in Brasília.

According to the probes, he was at the head of illegal demonstrations held at the National Congress building, at Brasília airport, and near the hotel where President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stayed before taking office for his third term.

He was arrested in December 2022, but was released in September 2023, when his imprisonment was replaced by the use of an electronic ankle monitor. Next, he broke the device and fled to Argentina.

Some 60 Brazilians involved in anti-democratic actions fled to Argentina after breaking their ankle tags, the police reported. Most of them are under investigation for their involvement in the attempted coup of January 8, 2023.