The Brazilian Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a request from former President Jair Bolsonaro to temporarily reinstate his passport so he could attend the inauguration in Washington of newly-elected US President Donald Trump next week.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who has often called Bolsonaro his personal enemy, said in the ruling that Bolsonaro does not currently hold a position that would allow him to represent Brazil at the event and that the former president has not sufficiently proven in court that he invited.
HOW BRAZILIAN POLICE SAY BOLSONARO plotted a coup to stay in office
Last February, during several extensive investigations, including an alleged attempt to remain in office despite his election defeat, Bolsonaro had his passport confiscated by federal police because he was considered a flight risk. He denies the allegations against him.
Bolsonaro responded to the verdict on Thursday by accusing Brazil’s legal system of political persecution against him, comparing his situation to legal cases in the US. against Trump. He said Trump “has conquered judicial activism. I too will overcome it.”
The former Brazilian president had requested permission to leave the country from January 17 to 22 to attend the inauguration ceremony on January 20 and a Spanish inauguration ball. Bolsonaro, an outspoken admirer of Trump, said on his social media channels on January 8 that he was “very happy with this invitation.”
President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro speaks during an event to launch a new register for professional workers in the fishing industry at the Planalto Government Palace on June 29, 2021 in Brasilia, Brazil. (Andressa Anholete/Getty Images)
“I will represent the conservative, the right, the good and the Brazilian people there in the United States, God willing,” Bolsonaro said.
When De Moraes asked Bolsonaro’s lawyers for proof of his invitation on Saturday, they forwarded an invitation letter signed by inauguration committee co-chairs Steve Witkoff and Kelly Loeffler.
Still, De Moraes argued that Bolsonaro had not sufficiently proven that he had been invited to the inauguration. In the ruling, De Moraes followed the recommendation of Attorney General Paulo Gonet, who said on Wednesday that Bolsonaro’s private interest in the trip does not outweigh the public interest in banning him from traveling abroad.
De Moraes said Bolsonaro remains a flight risk, adding that the former president has advocated that his supporters facing legal challenges in cases involving their political allegiance should leave the country and seek asylum. Hundreds of Bolsonaro supporters involved in the January 8, 2023 riots in the capital Brasilia have left Brazil to avoid prosecution.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will not attend Trump’s inauguration.
Federal police seized Bolsonaro’s passport in February 2024 during a raid related to the investigation into whether he and top aides plotted to ignore the 2022 election results and stage an uprising to force the defeated right-wing leader to power. to keep power.
Brazil’s Supreme Court previously rejected a request from Bolsonaro to retrieve his passport in March 2024, at the invitation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Last November, federal police formally accused Bolsonaro and 36 others, including senior military officers, of attempting a coup. Gonet, the attorney general, will decide whether to charge Bolsonaro or abandon the investigation.
Legal experts believe that Bolsonaro could be indicted and tried in the Supreme Court in the second half of 2025 for allegedly falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination status. Analysts also say there is a reasonable chance he will stand trial before 2026 for allegedly embezzling jewelry donated by Saudi Arabian authorities.
The former president denies that he tried to stay in office after his narrow 2022 election defeat to his left-wing opponent Lula.
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Brazil’s ambassador to the US, Maria Luiza Viotti, will attend Trump’s inauguration, the government told the Associated Press on Thursday. President Lula was not officially invited to the ceremony.
Trump has invited a number of world leaders to his inauguration, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Argentine President Javier Milei.
