A group of retired Federal Police detectives has released a statement accusing members of Brazil's Supreme Court of using the force to take what they called "authoritarian and illegal measures".
The statement by about 100 ex-officers comes just days after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes authorized a Federal Police raid on wealthy supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro.
According to a report by online news site Metropoles, the businessmen had discussed in WhatsApp groups the virtues of a military coup if the far-right leader lost his upcoming re-election attempt.