Brazilian Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of conservative former President Jair Bolsonaro, announced on Tuesday that he will seek political asylum in the United States.
Bolsonaro, who has been in the U.S. since February, made the announcement in an interview with CNN Brasil. He said that he will request asylum on the grounds that he is the target of a persecution campaign led by Brazilian Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) Minister Alexandre de Moraes.
“I don’t have a flight back to Brazil. I have to apply for political asylum to the U.S. government,” Bolsonaro told the outlet.
“Brazil is no longer a democracy. It’s not possible for a parliamentarian to lose his passport for what he says. Where is parliamentary immunity?” he continued. “I’m not going to subject myself to this and remain under the thumb of Alexandre de Moraes. I’m taking my leave to represent the interests of my constituents, those who voted for me.”
In late February, a group of legislators from the ruling leftist Workers’ Party (PT) formally requested that local authorities investigate Bolsonaro and seize his passport for allegedly committing “crimes against sovereignty” and criticizing the STF alongside U.S. congressmen. The leftists accused Bolsonaro at the time of allegedly “conspiring” with U.S. legislators against the Brazilian judiciary.
The group’s accusations came shortly after the House Judiciary Committee passed the “No Censors on our Shores Act,” a piece of legislation that aims to codify into law provisions to bar or deport foreign government officials from the United States if they engage in official acts that violate the First Amendment rights of Americans.
Hours before his conversation with CNN Brasil, Eduardo Bolsonaro announced through a video on his personal X account that he would take an unpaid leave of absence from Congress to dedicate himself to seeking “the appropriate sanctions for those who violate human rights,” specifically mentioning de Moraes.
“Here, in the United States of America, I will focus on seeking justice and the proper punishments for Alexandre de Moraes and his FBI destachment [sic] who blindly follow his illegal orders like Gestapo,” Bolsonaro said in the video. “You, jellyfish man, small and vain, are not used to dealing with men of conviction.”
“You thought you could blackmail me with the benefits and privileges of the politics, but you couldn’t have been more wrong,” the congressman continued. “The best parliamentarians, those truly called, are not caricatures clinging to bureaucrats’ titles. I ponder and resign to the law of despondence to stay strong to my mission.”
Referring to the request to have his passport seized, Bolsonaro asserted that everyone in Brazil “knows” that de Moraes is “capable of doing anything, even when it’s clearly illegal or unconstitutional.” He said that if de Moraes wants to seize his passport “or even arrest me so that I can no longer report his crimes in the United States, then this is precisely where I will stay and work harder than ever.”
Hours after Bolsonaro posted the video, Brazil’s top court justice ruled to deny the request filed by the Workers’ Party lawmakers on the grounds that the Public Prosecutor’s Office — the Brazilian authority exclusively responsible for bringing charges or requesting that an investigation be closed — was against seizing the congressman’s passport. Brazilian Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet argued that the complaint filed by the leftists did not contain the minimum elements to justify opening an investigation.
In an interview with the Brazilian outlet Revista Oeste on Tuesday, Jair Bolsonaro — the conservative former president of Brazil — said that he would rather see his son free in the U.S. than persecuted in his native country.
“I’d rather he was free in the United States than being threatened here in Brazil. And what we try to do, he will have my full support. He can continue,” Bolsonaro stated. “Although I’m not in charge of him anymore — he’s 42, 43 years old — but he’s doing an excellent job there and will continue to do an excellent job for us here in Brazil.”
“If the federal deputy who received the most votes in the history of Brazil is forced to choose between exile or prison, this country can no longer be called a democracy,” Bolsonaro said in a separate statement posted to his social media. “When the law gives way to persecution, what we have is open tyranny – and now the whole world is paying attention.”
Former President Bolsonaro was formally charged in February with allegedly plotting to poison current radical leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and stage a “coup” following his narrow defeat in the 2022 presidential election. De Moraes, alongside other members of Brazil’s top court, will rule on March 25 to determine if Bolsonaro will stand trial. On Sunday, Jair Bolsonaro claimed that he had no plans to flee Brazil to avoid a possible arrest ordered by the STF.
Brazilian lawmakers may take a leave of absence of up to 120 days (four months) per legislative session without losing their mandate. CNN Brasil reported on Wednesday morning that Eduardo Bolsonaro’s seat in the Brazilian House of Representatives will be occupied by Missionary José Olímpio of the conservative Liberal Party (PL) once Bolsonaro is absent for more than 120 days.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
