Bolsonaro’s Disappointment as Court Prevents His Presence at Trump’s Inauguration

Brazil
Reuters
 — 

Former Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro claimed that the nation’s highest court was targeting him on Saturday after his appeal against a travel restriction was dismissed.

Addressing supporters at the Brasilia airport, Bolsonaro, who had urged the Supreme Court to revisit a prior ruling preventing him from traveling to the United States for the inauguration of the elected President Donald Trump, declared he was enduring “extensive political harassment by one individual.”

On Thursday evening, Bolsonaro’s attorneys lodged an appeal asserting that the right-leaning politician had completely adhered to and honored the precautionary directives enforced by the Supreme Court, also dismissing any suggestion of him absconding.

However, Justice Alexandre de Moraes subsequently reaffirmed a prior decision denying the former president’s appeal to have his passport reinstated, a document reviewed by Reuters indicated.

Bolsonaro was present at the airport to say goodbye to his spouse Michelle, who would be attending Trump’s inauguration.

Bolsonaro, who has been prohibited from seeking public office until 2030 and faces legal accusations for allegedly conspiring to overthrow following his defeat in the 2022 elections, had his passport revoked in February 2024 by order of Brazil’s highest court.

Bolsonaro, who led Brazil from 2019 to 2022 and has been referred to as the “Tropical Trump,” announced on Saturday that he had received an invitation to Trump’s inauguration on January 20.