Senator Flavio Bolsonaro reportedly left the country after losing to Lula and defying a court order to surrender his passports
Right-wing Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has fled to the US following his election defeat to incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Reuters and Brazilian news outlet Jovem Pan reported on Tuesday, citing sources.
A senior US State Department official told AP on Tuesday that Bolsonaro and his family would be granted US visas.
Bolsonaro, the son of jailed former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and an ally of US President Donald Trump, narrowly lost Sunday’s runoff to Lula despite receiving more votes in the first round earlier this month.
He is under investigation for money laundering and currency evasion involving financial ties to lawyer Willer Tomaz and businesses linked to online gambling. Bolsonaro also faces a separate investigation into suspected irregularities in the financing of Dark Horse, a biographical film about his father. Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing.
His brother Eduardo, also a politician, moved to the US in February 2025, citing fears of political persecution and arrest. He was subsequently convicted of attempting to interfere with judicial proceedings against his father by lobbying Washington to impose sanctions on Brazilian officials. Eduardo, who remains in the US, was sentenced to four years and two months in prison in June 2026.
Flavio Bolsonaro initially refused to recognize the election results and vowed to seek their annulment, citing a two-hour extension of voting.
“They will not silence me. They will not intimidate me. Let’s hold our heads high and keep fighting for our Brazil, whatever happens,” Bolsonaro said in a video posted Monday, although he later dropped his demand for annulment.
Later on Monday, Bolsonaro was given 24 hours to surrender his passports as part of the investigation involving Tomaz. The documents were reportedly canceled on Tuesday after he missed the deadline. Bolsonaro, who could face prosecution in lower courts when his Senate term ends on January 31, had insisted on Monday that he had no plans to flee.
Trump also questioned the election results. “It had a very bad look, the election, the way it was tabulated,” he told reporters on Monday. “The extension given was very strange.”
Both campaigns had requested a two-hour extension of voting on election day, citing difficulties for voters, according to Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court.
Bolsonaro’s father is serving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election to Lula. The elder Bolsonaro had also traveled to the US following his defeat before returning to Brazil. He denied wrongdoing and argued that the case was politically motivated.
Lula previously served two presidential terms from 2003 to 2010. He was barred from running in the 2018 election after being convicted on corruption charges and imprisoned. Brazil’s Supreme Court later annulled his convictions, restoring his political rights and allowing him to run in 2022, when he defeated Jair Bolsonaro. Lula has also denied wrongdoing and maintained that the corruption case against him was politically motivated.
