Dozens of House Democrats on Thursday urged US President Joe Biden not to “provide shelter” for former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in the wake of an attack on Brazil’s democratic institutions that echoed the January 6 attacks on the US Capitol.
In their letter, the lawmakers called for the administration to reassess Bolsonaro’s status in the United States and revoke his visa if necessary, and for “the Department of Justice and other relevant federal agencies to hold accountable, as appropriate, any actors based in Florida who may have financed or supported the violent crimes of January 8.”
“We should cooperate fully with Brazilian authorities in investigating any role Mr. Bolsonaro or those around him played in the events of January 8, and any crimes he committed when in office,” wrote the lawmakers, who were led by Reps. Joaquin Castro, Gregory Meeks, Ruben Gallego, Jesús “Chuy” García and Susan Wild.
The letter comes as Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, former January 6 committee chair, has been contacted by Brazilian officials to discuss the riots that unfolded in Brasilia last Sunday.
According to a source familiar, discussions have not yet taken place, though Thompson told CNN that if the January 6 committee’s work and report “serves as a model for similar investigations, I will help out in any way possible.”
More than 1,000 people have been arrested following the attack, and the letter from the House Democrats argued that the assault in Brasilia “was built upon months of pre- and post-election fabrications by Mr. Bolsonaro and his allies claiming that the October 30 presidential election had been stolen.”
