SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a request by former President Jair Bolsonaro to temporarily restore his passport so he can attend the inauguration in Washington of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump next week .
Judge Alexandre de Moraes, whom Bolsonaro has often called a personal enemy, said in his ruling that Bolsonaro does not currently hold any position that would allow him to represent Brazil at the event and that the former president has not adequately proved to the court that he had been invited.
Bolsonaro, as part of several high-profile investigations, including an alleged attempt to stay in power despite his electoral defeat, had his passport seized by federal police last February because he was considered a flight risk. He denies the allegations against him.
Bolsonaro responded to the X verdict on Thursday by accusing the Brazilian justice system of political persecution against him, comparing his situation to the legal proceedings in the United States against Trump. He said Trump “overcame 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 Hispanic inaugural ball. Bolsonaro, a fervent admirer of Trump, said on his social media on January 8 that he was “very happy with this invitation.”
“I will represent the conservatives, the right, the good people, the Brazilian people in the United States, God willing,” Bolsonaro said.
When de Moraes asked Bolsonaro’s lawyers for proof of his invitation on Saturday, they forwarded a letter of invitation signed by inauguration committee co-chairs Steve Witkoff and Kelly Loeffler.
De Moraes nevertheless argued that Bolsonaro had not sufficiently proven that he had been invited to the inauguration. In his decision, de Moraes followed the recommendation of Attorney General Paulo Gonet, who said Wednesday that Bolsonaro’s private interest in the trip did not outweigh the public interest in barring him from traveling abroad.
De Moraes said Bolsonaro remained a flight risk and added that the former president had advocated that his supporters facing legal problems in cases involving their political allegiance 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 linked to the investigation into whether he and his top aides plotted to ignore the 2022 election results and stage an uprising to maintain power. the defeated right-wing leader.
Brazil’s Supreme Court had already rejected a request from Bolsonaro to get his passport back, in March 2024, following an invitation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Last November, federal police officially accused Bolsonaro and 36 others, including high-ranking military officers, of attempting a coup. Gonet, the attorney general, will decide whether to charge Bolsonaro or drop the investigation.
Legal experts believe Bolsonaro could be indicted and tried in the second half of 2025 in the Supreme Court for allegedly falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination status. Analysts also believe there is a good chance he will be tried before 2026 for alleged misappropriation of jewelry donated by Saudi authorities.
The former president denies trying to stay in power after his narrow electoral defeat in 2022 against his left-wing opponent, Lula.
Brazil’s Ambassador to the United States, Maria Luiza Viotti, will attend Trump’s inauguration, the government announced to The Associated Press on Thursday. President Lula was not officially invited to the ceremony.
Trump has invited some world leaders to his inauguration, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Argentine President Javier Milei.
