Tens of thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro demonstrated on Sunday in the streets of São Paulo city, protesting the opening of a criminal investigation against the country's former right-wing president.

The "G1" news portal reported that Bolsonaro's supporters organized a march along Avenida Paulista on Sunday to protest the investigations into allegations of Bolsonaro's involvement in a coup attempt after his defeat in the 2022 elections.

Bolsonaro lost to leftist politician Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the presidential runoff election in October 2022, and there are allegations that Bolsonaro was involved in plans to overthrow the government after Lula's election victory.

Bolsonaro refused to give testimony during his latest interrogation by the federal police.

Bolsonaro, a former army officer, said to his supporters during the Sunday march: "I seek calm to erase the past, we must find a way to live in peace."

He called for amnesty for his supporters, some of whom were sentenced to long prison terms due to their attack on the government district after the elections.

It is noted that Bolsonaro's supporters, who refused to recognize Lula's victory, stormed the Congress, government headquarters, and the Supreme Court in Brasília on January 8, 2023, causing significant damage.