BRAZIL’S former president Jair Bolsonaro led a rally on Sunday in support of an amnesty law that could free him from criminal charges.

The proposed law would also eliminate the prison sentences of dozens of supporters who stormed the nation’s congress two years ago to protest against the election of his successor, Luis Inacio “Lula” da Silva.

Mr Bolsonaro has been charged by Brazilian prosecutors with trying to organise a coup following his defeat to Lula in the October 2022 election, with investigators saying he plotted with 33 others to poison Lula and kill a Supreme Court judge.

Speaking to thousands of supporters who gathered in Sao Paulo Mr Bolsonaro said he had faith in the Brazilian people and hoped that Congress would approve an amnesty law drafted by his allies.

“We have a way out of this,” Mr Bolsonaro said.

Mr Bolsonaro said that Brazilian courts were trying to “hunt him” with “lawfare,” comparing it to the way courts in France recently went after far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

The former president was barred from running for office until 2030 by Brazil’s electoral court for making unfounded claims about the nation’s electoral system that suggested voting machines had been rigged.

Mr Bolsonaro told the rally: “To hold elections in 2026 without Jair Bolsonaro is to negate democracy.”