FEDERAL police arrested a former member of Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro’s Cabinet on Saturday in connection with investigations into an alleged coup plot, the Supreme Court have said.

General Walter Braga Netto was formally accused in November, along with Mr Bolsonaro and 35 others, of plotting a coup to keep the far-right president in office following his failed 2022 re-election bid.

The arrest made on Saturday stemmed from allegations of obstructing the collection of evidence, the Federal Police said.

A court statement said police formally requested the general be preventively detained because its agents identified “robust evidence” that he sought to discover what a former aide to Mr Bolsonaro, who signed a plea bargain, was telling authorities.

General Braga Netto served as Mr Bolsonaro’s chief of staff from 2020 to 2021, his defence minister from 2021 to 2022, and his 2022 running mate.

His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment. 

In November, Brazil’s Federal Police unsealed the final report of its investigation into the plan to keep Mr Bolsonaro in office by overturning the election of President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva in 2022. 

Federal Police say General Braga Netto was one of the leaders of the plot and pressed military leaders to sign up to the coup.

According to the investigation, the plan included a plot to assassinate Lula, vice-president-elect Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. 

Investigators allege General Braga Netto gave the green light to the assassination plan at a meeting with the plotters inside his home.