Flávio Bolsonaro leaves Brazil despite court ban
The defeated presidential candidate left Brazil after a Supreme Court justice barred him from leaving, and police canceled his passports. The US says it will grant him a visa.
Developing story. Details may change as more information is confirmed.
Flávio Bolsonaro, the right-wing senator who lost Brazil's presidential runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday, has left the country even though a Supreme Court justice had barred him from doing so.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes had ordered him to hand over his passports. When he did not, Brazil's Federal Police canceled both his regular and diplomatic passports. Argentina's migration authorities said on Wednesday that Bolsonaro, his wife and daughters crossed into Argentina by road on Tuesday night and then boarded a private flight bound for Guayaquil, Ecuador. Some media reported he was heading on to the United States; his final destination has not been officially confirmed.
The US State Department said it would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family. He has also held Italian citizenship since 2023, according to an Italian parliamentary document.
Bolsonaro, 45, is under investigation over alleged corruption and money laundering and is set to lose his parliamentary immunity. He has not conceded the election, which Lula won with about 51.8% of the vote, and says he will seek to have the result annulled. Lula called leaving the country shameful.
His father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is under house arrest in a coup-plot case that followed his own 2022 election defeat.
This story is developing.
This summary is original reporting by tehworldnews, written after checking the facts against several major international news outlets and official statements.