RIO DE JANEIRO -- A Brazilian Supreme Court justice authorized Friday adding former President Jair Bolsonaro in its probe into who incited the Jan. 8 riot in the nation's capital, as part of a broader crackdown to hold responsible parties accountable.
According to the text of his ruling, Justice Alexandre de Moraes granted the request from the prosecutor-general's office, which cited a video that Bolsonaro posted on Facebook two days after the riot. The video claimed President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wasn't voted into office, but rather was chosen by the Supreme Court and Brazil's electoral authority.
Prosecutors in the recently formed group to combat anti-democratic acts argued earlier Friday that although Bolsonaro posted the video after the riot, its content was sufficient to justify investigating his conduct beforehand. Bolsonaro deleted it the morning after he first posted it.
Legal analysts consulted by The Associated Press said investigating Bolsonaro was overdue and justified.
Bolsonaro has refrained from commenting on the election since his Oct. 30 defeat. He repeatedly stoked doubt about the reliability of the electronic voting system in the run-up to the vote, filed a request afterward to annul millions of ballots cast using the machines and never conceded.
He has taken up residence in an Orlando suburb since leaving Brazil in late December. Some Democratic lawmakers have urged President Joe Biden to cancel his visa.
Following the justice's decision late Friday, Bolsonaro's lawyer Frederick Wassef said in a statement the former president "vehemently repudiates the acts of vandalism and destruction" from Jan. 8, but blamed supposed "infiltrators" of the protest -- something his far-right backers have also claimed.
The statement also said Bolsonaro "never had any relationship or participation with these spontaneous social movements."
Brazilian authorities are investigating who enabled Bolsonaro's radical supporters to storm the Supreme Court, Congress and presidential palace in an attempt to overturn results of the October election. Targets include those who summoned rioters to the capital or paid to transport them, and local security personnel who may have stood aside to let the mayhem occur.
Much of the attention thus far has focused on Anderson Torres, Bolsonaro's former justice minister, who became the federal district's security chief Jan. 2 and was in the U.S. during the riot.
In his decision, which was made public Friday, de Moraes said Torres fired subordinates and left the country before the riot, an indication that he was deliberately laying the groundwork for the unrest.
Torres returned to Brazil early Saturday and was taken into custody, the Federal Police said in a statement. Torres has denied wrongdoing.
Justice Minister Flavio Dino pointed to a document that Brazilian federal police found upon searching Torres' home: a draft decree that would have seized control of Brazil's electoral authority and potentially overturned the election.
The origin and authenticity of the unsigned document are unclear, and it remains unknown if Bolsonaro or his subordinates took any steps to implement the measure that would have been unconstitutional, according to analysts and the Brazilian academy of electoral and political law.
Torres wrote on Twitter that the document was probably found in a pile along with others intended for shredding and it was leaked out of context to feed false narratives aimed at discrediting him.
Dino told reporters Friday morning that no connection has yet been established between the capital riot and Bolsonaro.
The federal district's former governor and former military police chief are also targets of the Supreme Court investigation made public Friday. Both were removed from their positions after the riot.
Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro who were arrested after the storming of public buildings are taken by bus to a federal prison as they leave the Federal Police Academy in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Gustavo Moreno)
Justice Minister Flavio Dino gives a press conference after a tribute to security professionals who worked to defend public buildings stormed by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, at the Justice Ministry in Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. Rioters invaded government buildings in the capital on Jan. 8. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
FILE - Brazilian Justice Minister Anderson Torres gives a press conference on the operation coined Operation Elections at the Command and Security Center of the Justice Ministry ahead of general elections in Brasilia, Brazil, Oct. 1, 2022. Brazil's government is prepared to request Torres' extradition should he fail to return from the U.S. by Monday, Jan. 16, 2023, given an outstanding warrant for his arrest in connection with his role in the Jan. 8 capital riot, according to Brazil's current Justice Minister Flavio Dino on Jan. 13, 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
FILE - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro looks on after speaking from his official residence the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Nov. 1, 2022. His absence on Inauguration Day will mark a break with tradition and remains unclear who, instead of him, will hand over the presidential sash to Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the presidential palace on Jan. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
Supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro show off items that Bolsonaro autographed at his residence Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro talk to a security guard asking for autographs from Bolsonaro outside the home where he is living Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, in Kissimmee, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Furniture that was thrown out of Planalto Palace by protesters, supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, lay on the ground after the protesters stormed the official workplace of the president in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Protesters, supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, clash with police during a protest outside the Planalto Palace building in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. Other demonstrators stormed congress and the Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Protesters, supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, storm the the National Congress building in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)