Flávio Bolsonaro flees Brazil for US after losing election: Reports

Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro has fled Brazil for the U.S. after losing the runoff presidential election, multiple outlets reported Tuesday.

The move comes after Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his passports related to alleged financial crimes, The Associated Press reported.

The State Department did not immediately return The Hill’s request for comment.

Bolsonaro, a right-wing presidential candidate and the son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, lost the presidential election in an upset to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, commonly known as Lula. After losing the election, Bolsonaro claimed that it was fraudulent, just as his father had in 2022 after losing to Lula.

The elder Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year prison sentence for attempting a post-election coup in 2022.

President Trump got involved Monday, calling the election “rigged.” The president did not endorse Bolsonaro, but supported his father in 2022.

“I didn’t take sides, but it looked like another rigged election, frankly,” Trump said.

Trump and Lula have battled it out in the past, namely after the president levied 50 percent tariffs on Brazil.

The tariffs were at least in part a response to the elder Bolsonaro’s prosecution, Trump said. Lula threatened retaliation and authored an opinion column in The New York Times calling the tariffs politically motivated .

Trump’s support for the elder Bolsonaro and the opposition to his prosecution came amid his own legal troubles related to his actions after the 2020 presidential election. Trump has repeatedly claimed the election was stolen without evidence.