Supreme Court of Brazil on Thursday rejected former President Jair Bolsonaro’s request to temporarily return his passport so he can attend the inauguration in Washington of US President-elect Donald Trump next week.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes, whom Bolsonaro has often called his personal enemy, said in the ruling that Bolsonaro does not currently have a position that would allow him to represent Brazil at the event and that the former president did not adequately prove to the court that he was invited.
HOW BRAZILIAN POLICE SAY BOLSONARO COOKED A COUP TO KEEP IN OFFICE
Bolsonaro, who is the subject of several wide-ranging investigations, including an alleged attempt to stay in office despite an election 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 Thursday’s ruling by accusing Brazil’s justice system of political persecution against him, comparing his situation to legal cases in the US against Trump. He said Trump “has overcome judicial activism. And I will overcome it.”
The former Brazilian president has requested permission to leave the country from Jan. 17 to Jan. 22 to attend the Jan. 20 inauguration ceremony and the Latin American Inaugural Ball. Bolsonaro, an outspoken Trump fan, said on his social media channels on January 8 that he was “very happy about this call”.
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro speaks during an event to launch a new registry 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, right-wing, good, Brazilian people there in the United States, God willing,” Bolsonaro said.
When de Moraes asked Bolsonaro’s lawyers for evidence of his invitation on Saturday, they passed on an invitation letter signed by inauguration committee co-chairs Steve Witkoff and Kelly Loeffler.
However, de Moraes claimed that Bolsonaro did not adequately prove that he was invited to the inauguration. In the ruling, de Moraes followed the recommendation of Chief Prosecutor Paul Gonet, who said on Wednesday that Bolsonaro’s private interest in traveling did 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 problems 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 left Brazil to avoid prosecution.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will not attend Trump’s inauguration.
Federal police confiscated Bolsonaro’s passport in February 2024, during a raid related to an investigation into whether he and top aides planned to ignore the results of the 2022 election and stage an uprising to keep the defeated right-wing leader in power.
Brazil’s Supreme Court previously rejected Bolsonaro’s request to have his passport returned, in March 2024, following an appeal by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Last November, federal police formally charged Bolsonaro and 36 others, including senior military officers, with the coup attempt. Gonet, the chief prosecutor, will decide whether to indict Bolsonaro or dismiss the investigation.
Legal experts believe Bolsonaro could be charged and tried in the second half of 2025 at the Supreme Court for allegedly falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination status. Analysts also say there is a reasonable chance he could be tried before 2026 for allegedly misappropriating jewels gifted to him by Saudi Arabian authorities.
The former president denies trying to stay in office after narrowly losing the 2022 election to his leftist 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 invited some global leaders to his inauguration, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Argentine President Javier Miley.
