Supreme Court of Brazil On Thursday, he rejected a request from former President Jair Bolsonaro to temporarily restore his passport so that he could attend the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump in Washington next week.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes, whom Bolsonaro often described as his personal adversary, said in the ruling that Bolsonaro did not currently hold any position that would allow him to represent Brazil at the event and that the former president had not sufficiently proven to the court that he was. Invited.
How Brazilian police say Bolsonaro planned a coup to stay in office
Bolsonaro, who is the subject of several wide-ranging investigations, including in connection with an alleged attempt to remain in office despite his electoral defeat, had his passport confiscated by federal police last February because he was considered a flight risk. He denies the accusations against him.
Bolsonaro responded to the ruling on Thursday by accusing the Brazilian judicial system of political persecution against him, and comparing his situation to legal cases in the United States. Against Trump. He said that Trump “defeated judicial activism. And I will defeat him, too.”
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 an inauguration ceremony for Hispanics. Bolsonaro, an outspoken fan of Trump, said on his social media channels on January 8 that he was “very happy with this invitation.”
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro speaks during an event to launch a new registry of professional workers in the fish industry at Planalto Government Palace on June 29, 2021 in Brasilia, Brazil. (Andressa Anhollet/Getty Images)
“I will represent the conservatives, the rightists, the righteous and the Brazilian people who are in the United States, God willing,” Bolsonaro said.
When de Moraes asked Bolsonaro's lawyers for evidence of his invitation on Saturday, they sent an invitation letter signed by co-chairs of the inauguration committee Steve Witkoff and Kelly Loeffler.
However, de Moraes said Bolsonaro had not sufficiently proven that he was invited to the inauguration. In sentencing, De Moraes followed the recommendation of prosecutor Paulo Jeunet, who said on Wednesday that Bolsonaro's private interest in the trip did not outweigh the public interest in preventing him from traveling abroad.
De Moraes said that Bolsonaro still faces the risk of fleeing, and added that the former president called for his supporters, who face legal problems in cases related to their political loyalty, to leave the country and seek asylum. Hundreds of Bolsonaro supporters participating in the January 8, 2023 riots in the capital, Brasilia, have left Brazil to avoid prosecution.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva They will not attend Trump's inauguration.
Federal police confiscated Bolsonaro's passport in February 2024, during a raid related to the investigation into whether he and his top aides had planned to ignore the results of the 2022 elections and organize an uprising to keep the defeated right-wing leader in power.
The Brazilian Supreme Court had previously rejected Bolsonaro's request to restore his passport, in March 2024, after an invitation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Last November, federal police formally charged Bolsonaro and 36 others, including high-ranking military officers, with attempting the coup. Gonet, the prosecutor, will decide whether to charge Bolsonaro or stop the investigation.
Legal experts believe that Bolsonaro could be indicted and tried in the second half of 2025 in the Supreme Court for allegedly falsifying his coronavirus vaccination status. Analysts also say there is a reasonable chance he will be tried before 2026 on charges of embezzling jewelry provided by Saudi authorities.
The former president denies that he tried to remain in office after his narrow electoral defeat in 2022 by his leftist opponent Lula.
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The Brazilian government told The Associated Press on Thursday that Brazilian Ambassador to the United States Maria Luisa Viotti will attend Trump's inauguration. President Lula was not officially invited to attend the ceremony.
Trump invited some world leaders to attend his inauguration, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Argentine President Javier Miley.
