As President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in the United States approaches, one world leader is unlikely to attend: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.

On Thursday, Brazil’s Supreme Court rejected petition The former president is demanding the return of his passport, which was confiscated by federal police in February.

Bolsonaro, who led Brazil from 2019 to 2022, faced multiple investigations and legal proceedings, including so called effort Overturning the results of the country’s 2022 presidential election.

The former far-right president, nicknamed “Tropical Trump,” has denied all accusations against him. But police believe he is a flight risk.

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“President Trump’s invitation to Bolsonaro symbolizes the deep ties between two of the Americas’ greatest democracies,” the office wrote in its statement. statement.

“The decision to ban Bolsonaro from this important event weakens Brazil’s standing on the global stage and sends a troubling message about the state of democracy and justice in our country.”

However, the Supreme Court ruled that Bolsonaro’s current status as a private citizen – holding no elected office – would not require him to travel to the United States for the inauguration, as officials do.

Brazil’s ambassador to the United States, Maria Luisa Viotti, is expected to attend the inauguration.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision was based on the advice of Brazil’s Attorney General Paulo Gonet Blanco.

Blanco said it was in the public interest to keep Bolsonaro in Brazil rather than allowing him to travel abroad, where he could escape legal action.

De Morais cited Bolsonaro’s previous statements to the media in which he “considered the possibility of fleeing and requesting political asylum to avoid possible criminal liability in Brazil.”

Trump’s inauguration on January 20 is expected to bring together some of the world’s most prominent right-wing leaders, including Argentinian President Javier Mire and British MP Nigel Farage.

Other anticipated guests include social media mogul Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and billionaire Elon Musk, a close adviser to the incoming U.S. president.

Following the court’s ruling, the Republican majority on the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee expressed support for Bolsonaro in social media posts.

“Jair Bolsonaro is a friend and patriot of the United States. Republicans should allow him to attend President Trump’s inauguration. wrote.

But Bolsonaro has been mired in legal scrutiny since his 2022 election defeat.

In October of the same year, left-wing leaders Luis Inacio Lula da Silva narrowly defeated Bolsonaro in the second round of the election, but Bolsonaro reject Admit failure publicly.

he had a long time inciting false rumors Brazil’s electronic voting machines are vulnerable to fraud, even before a vote is cast.

After his death, hundreds of his supporters flooded the streets Protest the election results. Bolsonaro himself left this country Florida before Lula’s inauguration.

Shortly after, on July 8, 2023, Bolsonaro supporters under attack In the Plaza de Triomphes in the capital Brasilia, buildings representing the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court were looted.

Bolsonaro has since returned to Brazil. But the court ruled that he Unable to run Term until 2030 as punishment for using government resources to undermine public confidence in elections.

Former president also faces scrutiny corruptionhe is sued Last year, he posted false information about his COVID-19 vaccination status in a national database.

In November, federal police also defendant Bolsonaro and 36 allies planned to “violently overthrow democratic countries.”

Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing in the cases. On Thursday, he compared his situation to Trump, who also accused his political opponents of “breaking the law” and falsely claiming election fraud.

“Lula’s government has clearly learned from the mistakes of the United States, where the justice system was used for political gain,” Bolsonaro wrote.

“But there they didn’t move fast enough to destroy their political opponent, Donald Trump, and he overcame this judicial activism. So will I.”