The Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) of Brazil on Thursday denied former President Jair Bolsonaro’s request for permission to leave the country to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The ruling, issued by “fake news crusader” Justice Alexandre de Moraes, comes hours after the Office of Brazil’s Attorney General (PGR) advised against returning Bolsonaro’s passport. The socialist government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva banned Bolsonaro from leaving his country in February 2024 as part of a broad probe into an alleged “coup” plot following his narrow defeat in the 2022 presidential election. Bolsonaro and 36 other individuals were formally indicted in November on charges of plotting to stage a coup and poison Lula.
In his ruling, de Moraes claimed that Bolsonaro did not submit sufficient documentation to prove that he was invited to the inauguration on January 20. The Supreme Court justice further argued that Bolsonaro has offered “indications” that he may try to flee the country and claim political asylum.
“The scenario that justified the imposition of a ban on leaving the country, with the surrender of passports, continues to indicate the possibility of an attempt by the indicted Jair Messias Bolsonaro to evade the application of the criminal law,” the ruling read.
After allegedly receiving an invitation to attend President-elect Trump’s inauguration, Bolsonaro, through his legal team, requested an exemption to the travel ban so he could travel to the United States. Weeks before his passport was seized, Bolsonaro traveled to Argentina in December 2023 to attend President Javier Milei’s inauguration. He returned to Brazil without incident.
De Moraes responded to Bolsonaro’s request over the weekend and demanded that the former president present additional evidence that he received an invitation to Trump’s inauguration, calling into questioning the origin of the invitation allegedly received via email by his son, Brazilian Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro. The court noted that the invitation came from an email address at T47inaugural.com, the official website of the Trump Vance Inaugural Committee.
Additionally, De Moraes forwarded the request to the Attorney General’s Office so that it would issue an opinion on the matter before the top court determined a final ruling. On behalf of his father, Eduardo Bolsonaro questioned de Moraes’s response and accused the Brazilian Supreme Court Justice of obstructing the former president’s request by means of a “very bureaucratic process.”
Brazilian Attorney General Paulo Gonet responded to de Moraes on Wednesday, opposing the request. Gonet argued in his response that the trip is meant to “satisfy” Bolsonaro’s private interests and that there is no “public interest” that can justify having the former president play a prominent role in the inauguration of the leader of Brazil’s most powerful ally.
“The desired trip is intended to satisfy the applicant’s private interest, which is not essential. There is no evidence in the application that the journey abroad would serve any vital interest of the applicant, capable of overriding the public interest that opposes the applicant’s departure from the country,” the document read.
“The situation described does not reveal a basic, urgent and undeniable need, capable of exempting the command to remain in Brazil, deliberated for reasons of public order,” the document continued.
Gonet further expressed that it is “pointless” to point out that Bolsonaro does not hold a position that “confers the status of official representation of Brazil to his presence at the official ceremony in the United States.”
“The measure to withhold the passport is obviously aimed at preventing the applicant from leaving the country and is intended to satisfy any criminal investigation and the application of the criminal law,” Gonet wrote.
“The precaution is therefore based on reasons of public order, with the aim of preserving a substantial public interest, in the context of the criminal investigations that have resulted,” he continued.
Neither former president Jair Bolsonaro, his son Eduardo, nor any member of Bolsonaro’s legal team has publicly commented on de Moraes’s ruling at press time.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
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