Brazil's Bolsonaro is Invited to Trump's Inauguration, He Thinks It Will Help Him Avoid Prison

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, facing criminal charges for attempting to overturn the elections and stage a coup instead, has been invited to President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration. The former leader believes this might be his best chance at avoiding prison in his home country.

"I'm feeling like a kid again with Trump's invite. I'm fired up. I'm not even taking Viagra anymore," the former Brazilian president said in an interview on Tuesday. "Trump's gesture is something to be proud of, right? Who's Trump? The most important guy in the world."

But before Bolsonaro can descend on Washington for the inauguration ceremony next Monday, he is facing one major obstacle. The Brazilian Supreme Court confiscated his passport as part of the investigation into whether he tried to stage a coup after losing re-election in 2022, a plan that included plans to assassinate sitting president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro's lawyers filed a petition last week with Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to allow the former president to attend Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration. But the request has so far been denied.

"They're trying to humiliate me... paint me as the world's worst criminal," said Bolsonaro in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, dressed in a red tie that he said was a tribute to Trump and the Republicans. "The persecution is relentless."

Bolsonaro could soon be at the center of one of the highest-profile trials in Brazil's history. But he believes the U.S.' recent developments, including the strong public alliance between Trump and billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, who have been on a "free speech" crusade, could change the political landscape in Brazil and guarantee his freedom.

The former president said he was delighted last week when Zuckerberg said his company would "work with President Trump to push back against" foreign governments that want to "censor more." One of his main examples were "secret courts" in Latin America "that can order companies to quietly take things down," according to The New York Times.

But Bolsonaro has nevertheless been vague about how Trump and his entourage could help him avoid prison. "I'm not going to give Trump any tips, ever," he said. "But I hope his politics really spill over into Brazil."

Experts don't believe his hopes will come into reality. Elizabeth Bagley, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Brazil, said Bolsonaro's wish that the United States could come to his rescue is far-fetched, given that the U.S. government does not interfere with another country's judicial process, The New York Times reported.

Bolsonaro, who has lobbied for changes to the country's electronic voting system for more than a decade, said he believes the 2022 vote was stolen. His government was studying options within the constitution to prevent da Silva from "wrongfully" taking power, he told the Wall Street Journal, adding that he left office peacefully, spending the last few days of his term in Orlando.

The controversial figure has been banned from running for office until 2030 as part of the allegations against him, but he told the Journal last year he believed Trump could help him return to power, possibly leveling economic sanctions against da Silva's government, a move that is unclear whether the American president-elect is willing to engage in.