RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct 17, (AP): Brazil’s Federal Police requested the extradition of dozens of people who had fled the country after being accused of storming top government offices last year, in an alleged bid to forcefully restore former President Jair Bolsonaro to office, two sources familiar with the police request told the Associated Press on Wednesday.

The police sent their request to the Supreme Court's Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who remitted it to the Justice Ministry, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly. One of them said the request targets 63 people, most believed to be in neighboring Argentina.

De Moraes oversees the extensive investigation into the Jan. 8 rampage in the capital, Brasilia, and has prohibited suspects and those convicted from leaving the country. Bolsonaro - who is a target of the investigation himself - and his allies deny wrongdoing and say they are victims of political persecution, echoing former US president Donald J. Trump's characterization of his legal woes.

He repeatedly sowed doubt about the reliability of Brazil’s voting system, never conceded defeat in the October 2022 presidential election and declined to attend President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s swearing-in. The Federal Police carried out an operation in June to capture fugitives involved in the riots. More than 200 defendants deliberately failed to comply with judicial precautionary measures or even fled to other countries, police said in a statement.

So far, dozens of fugitives have been arrested in the states of Espirito Santo, Sao Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Goias, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Parana and the Federal District. They are accused of a litany of crimes, including attempting a coup, incitement to crime, destruction and deterioration of protected property, police said.