Reuters reports that Brazil's federal police are seeking to arrest some of Bolsonaro's top aides and potentially the former president, as a source directly involved in the operation said that the passport seizures can indicate this so that suspects will remain in the country.
Bolsonaro has described himself as Brazil's version of Donald Trump.
Police stated that the targets of their Thursday operation had spread claims of electoral fraud ahead of the 2022 election results to "legitimize a military intervention."
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the operation due to a draft decree Bolsonaro had received in November 2022 to overturn electoral results and issue arrest warrants for Moraes as well as fellow Supreme Court Justice Gilmar Mendes and Senate leader Rodrigo Pacheco.
A week after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defeated Bolsonaro and took office in January 2023, the former president's supporters camped outside army headquarters and demanded a military intervention.
Lula stated that the coup attempt had to be investigated and that "Without Bolsonaro there would have been no coup attempt."
Bolsonaro's family spokesman Fabio Wajngarten said on social media that the former president will comply with the order to hand over his passport.
