Bolsonaro appealed the court’s rejection of his bid to attend Trump’s inauguration Reuters
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Former President Jair Bolsonaro’s defense filed a request late on Thursday to Brazil’s highest court to urgently review a decision to bar him from traveling to the United States to attend the US inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.
Bolsonaro’s defense argued that he fully complied with and respected the precautionary measures imposed on him by the Supreme Court, and also dismissed any possibility of his escape.
Earlier on Thursday, the Supreme Court rejected the former president’s request to have his passport returned, according to a decision seen by Reuters.
Bolsonaro, who is barred from running for office until 2030 and faces criminal charges for allegedly plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election, had his passport suspended in February 2024 by order of Brazil’s top court.
The right-wing Bolsonaro, who ruled from 2019 to 2022 and has been dubbed the “Trump of the Tropics,” said last week on X that he had been invited to Trump’s inauguration and was seeking the return of his passport.
Legal experts have previously said Brazilian courts are unlikely to grant Bolsonaro’s request, as there are several ongoing investigations and cases against him that have led to his passport being withheld to prevent a potential escape.
In his ruling on Thursday, Judge Alexandre de Moraes wrote that Bolsonaro said in an interview in November 2024 that he “considered fleeing and requested political asylum to avoid possible criminal liability in Brazil.”
The former president, who denies any guilt, said in an interview with local news outlet UOL that “those who see themselves as persecuted can go to the embassy.”
