Brazil's top court on Thursday refused to return the passport of right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro so that he could attend the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.
The court said Bolsonaro still posed a flight risk, almost a year since his passport was seized as part of an investigation into his alleged orchestration of a coup attempt to remain in power after losing the 2022 election.
"The scenario that justified the imposition of the ban on leaving the country, with the surrender of passports, continues to indicate the possibility of an attempted evasion by the accused," judge Alexandre de Moraes wrote.
In an interview with the New York Times, published shortly before the court's decision, Bolsonaro — dubbed the "Trump of the Tropics" during his time in office — was effervescent about the possibility of attending the inauguration.
"I'm feeling like a kid again with Trump's invite. I'm fired up. I'm not even taking Viagra anymore," Bolsonaro joked, calling Trump "the most important guy in the world."
He later said that his lawyers were likely to appeal the decision not to return his passport.
"This passport issue is still in play, I have a team of lawyers who asked me not to go into the specifics of the case because an appeal is still possible," he said on the YouTube channel of the conservative Revista Oeste website.
Bolsonaro said his wife would attend the inauguration, where she would get "special treatment" because of his long friendship with Trump.
"Everything he suffered there, I've been suffering here," he said.
But while his hero is returning to office, the 69-year-old former army captain is staring down multiple criminal charges from investigations launched after his razor-thin election loss to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro has denied all accusations and said he is being "persecuted."
He has been barred from holding public office until 2030 for casting doubts on the electoral system during his failed re-election campaign.
Police have also recommended he be charged for falsifying his Covid-19 vaccination records and misappropriating jewels and other luxury items gifted by Saudi Arabia, valued at $1.2 million.
The most serious allegation is that he "planned, acted, and had direct and effective control" over the plot to block Lula from taking office.
Police further alleged that Bolsonaro was "fully aware" of a plot by elite soldiers to assassinate Lula, vice-president Geraldo Alckmin and the high-profile judge Moraes.
Five people, including a former Bolsonaro aide, were arrested in November over the assassination plot.
— Times/AFP
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