Tens of thousands of supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro have rallied in the country’s biggest city, in a show of strength against legal challenges that could put him in jail.

The far-right former president, who called the rally in São Paulo after being targeted by a police raid earlier this month investigating an alleged coup attempt, spoke for about 20 minutes to defend himself, while reminiscing about his time in power.

In the speech he refrained from attacking old foes and the supreme court. Allies expressed concern before the event that any remarks against Brazilian authorities or institutions could get him into even hotter water.

Bolsonaro is seeking to show his base is resilient as he is being investigated by federal police over his alleged role in the 8 January 2023 attacks on government buildings by his supporters over his election loss. He wants the dozens of people still in jail for those incidents to get pardons.

Bolsonaro is also accused of illegally receiving jewels from Saudi Arabia during his presidency.

Six blocks of São Paulo’s Paulista Avenue filled with Bolsonaro supporters, many of whom said that he was being persecuted by Brazil’s supreme court and that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva unfairly won his narrow victory in the 2022 election.

Some also carried Israeli flags as a show of defiance to the current president, who has received widespread criticism at home for comparing Israel’s military offensive in Gaza to the Holocaust.

“What I seek is pacification, it is erasing the past,” Bolsonaro said in a speech as he held an Israeli flag himself. “It is to seek a way for us to live in peace and stop being so jumpy. Amnesty for those poor people who are jailed in Brasília. We ask all 513 congressmen, 81 senators for a bill of amnesty so justice can be made in Brazil.”

Bolsonaro denied that he and his supporters attempted a coup when rioters assaulted the government buildings a year ago.

“What is a coup? It is tanks on the streets, weapons, conspiracy. None of that happened in Brazil,” he said.