Trump's inauguration: Brazilian court rejects Bolsonaro's travel request.

The Brazilian Supreme Court rejected former President Jair Bolsonaro's request to temporarily regain his passport, allowing him to attend the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration next week.

In the ruling, Justice Alexandre de Moraes stated that Bolsonaro, whom he frequently refers to as his personal enemy, does not currently hold any position that would enable him to represent Brazil at the event and that the former president failed to provide sufficient evidence to the court to prove that he had been invited.

Federal police seized Bolsonaro's passport in February due to concerns that he might attempt to evade justice after his electoral defeat. Despite this, Bolsonaro maintains his innocence.

On Thursday, Bolsonaro reacted to the verdict on X by claiming that Brazil's judicial system was engaging in political persecution against him. He compared his situation to legal cases in the U.S. against Trump, stating that Trump had successfully overcome judicial activism, and he too would do the same.

The Brazilian president had requested permission to travel to the US for the inauguration ceremony and a Hispanic ball from January 17 to 22.

Bolsonaro stated that he would be representing the conservative, right-wing, good, and Brazilian people in the United States, as long as God wills it.

On Saturday, Bolsonaro's lawyers provided de Moraes with an invitation letter signed by inauguration committee co-chairs Steve Witkoff and Kelly Loeffler.

De Moraes maintained that Bolsonaro had not provided sufficient evidence to prove his invitation to the inauguration. In the verdict, de Moraes concurred with the advice of Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet, who stated on Wednesday that Bolsonaro's personal desire to travel abroad did not justify prohibiting him from doing so.

Bolsonaro's supporters who face legal troubles in cases involving their political allegiance should leave the country and seek asylum, as Bolsonaro advocates. Hundreds of Bolsonaro's supporters involved in Jan. 8, 2023 riots in capital Brasilia have left Brazil to avoid prosecution.

Lula da Silva will not attend Trump's inauguration.

In February 2024, federal police confiscated Bolsonaro's passport during a raid related to an investigation into whether he and his top advisors planned to disregard the 2022 election results and stage a coup to maintain the defeated right-wing leader in power.

In March 2024, Brazil's Supreme Court rejected Jair Bolsonaro's request to retrieve his passport, which he had been invited to do by Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In November, federal authorities accused Bolsonaro and 36 others, including top military officials, of attempting a coup. The prosecutor-general will determine whether to charge Bolsonaro or dismiss the investigation.

There is a possibility that Bolsonaro could be charged and tried at the Supreme Court in the second half of 2025 for allegedly falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination status, and there is also a reasonable chance that he may stand trial before 2026 over allegations of embezzling jewels gifted by Saudi Arabian authorities.

The former president claims that he never attempted to remain in power after his close loss to his leftist rival, Lula, in the 2022 election.

The Brazilian ambassador to the U.S., Maria Luiza Viotti, will not attend Trump's inauguration, as President Lula was not officially invited to the ceremony.

Some global leaders, including China's President Xi Jinping and Argentina's President Javier Milei, have been invited to Trump's inauguration.