They pressure Biden to expel Bolsonaro from the US after the coup attack in Brazil

By Mithil Aggarwal and Summer Concepcion —

President Joe Biden is facing mounting pressure to expel Jair Bolsonaro from the United States after fans of the former Brazilian leader violently stormed the headquarters of Congress, the Supreme Court and the country's presidential palace.

The Brazilian authorities detained 1,200 followers of the former president on Monday, and the police deployed in the camps of the coup leaders in the country's capital.

The government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva promised to prosecute the radio stations for their assault on democracy.

The attack, which had unmistakable echoes of the January 2021 storming of the Capitol by fans of former President Donald Trump, drew attention to Florida, where Bolsonaro flew days before the end of his term.

[The Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported Monday that Bolsonaro was hospitalized in Orlando with abdominal pain.]

Followers of Jair Bolsonaro invade the main headquarters of the Government in Brazil

Jan 9, 202302:00

“Almost two years to the day the Capitol was attacked by fascists, we see fascist movements abroad trying to do the same in Brazil,” New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned on Twitter, adding: “The United States must stop granting refuge to Bolsonaro in Florida”.

Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas;

Ilhan Omar for Minnesota;

and Mark Takano for California, echoed the calls for the expulsion.

Sunday's attack on government buildings in Brasilia came after Bolsonaro decided to skip Lula's inauguration and instead fly to the United States, where he has been staying in suburban Orlando.

The actions of Bolsonaro and his supporters did not surprise analysts who have been following the former army captain, who has repeatedly praised Brazil's bygone era of military dictatorship.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will be a resident of Miami

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"Bolsonaro ran with a candidacy very similar to Trump's," Todd Landman, a professor of political science at the English University of Nottingham, told NBC News.

“He looked at Trump as a person to emulate.

He also raised questions about the integrity of the electoral process well in advance,” he added.

After his defeat against Lula in October, Bolsonaro did not admit the electoral result.

His supporters had been camping in front of military bases for months, asking for the intervention of the Army.

On Sunday, days after Lula's inauguration, thousands of people dressed in the iconic yellow and green colors of the national flag stormed and then vandalized state buildings.

Biden said on Twitter that the riots were an "assault on democracy and the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil" and that he was looking forward to working with Lula.

Other countries joined his condemnation, such as Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy.

Followers of Jair Bolsonaro invade the main headquarters of the Government in Brazil

Jan 9, 202302:00

But despite mounting calls from lawmakers in Washington, experts said any decision to expel Bolsonaro from the United States might not be quick.

“They would have to have incontrovertible proof that there is a direct link or a set of explicit instructions that came from Bolsonaro to do this,” Landman said. 

If Biden does not choose to revoke his visa, Brazil could formally request his extradition after issuing an arrest warrant.

Bolsonaro's visa situation was not immediately clear.

Lula had already promised to go after Bolsonaro during his inauguration speech on January 1 if necessary, and on Sunday did not hesitate to blame his predecessor for Sunday's unrest. 

"This genocide (...) is encouraging this through social networks from Miami

," Lula said Sunday at a press conference on an official trip to the state of São Paulo.

“Everyone knows that there are several speeches by the former president encouraging this,” she said.

Bolsonaro later rejected the accusations, saying on Twitter that peaceful protest was part of a democracy, but vandalism and building invasions were "exceptions to the rule."

Bolsonaro, two days after being defeated by Lula, at the Alvorada Palace, on November 1, 2022 in Brasilia. Andressa Anholete / Getty Images

Although he questions the election results and casts doubt on the voting process, Bolsonaro has not made an explicit call to action.

But he praised his supporters, who in December blocked roads, held rallies and even stormed police headquarters in the capital. 

“He is afraid that if he said something like Trump, he could be prosecuted and then jailed, especially when he lost the election,” Yuri Kasahara, a researcher at Oslo Metropolitan University in Norway, told NBC News, adding that Bolsonaro had lost his presidential immunity.

Unlike the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, very few officials were in the buildings at the time of Sunday's attacks, and Bolsonaro's supporters faced little opposition.

That led some to wonder if local law enforcement was involved in any way.

The president of the Supreme Court ordered the dismissal for 90 days of the governor of Brasilia, Ibaneis Rocha, a staunch supporter of Bolsonaro and responsible for the security of the capital.

On his first day in government, Lula revokes the flexibility of the carrying of arms decreed by Bolsonaro

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Authorities were now combing the buildings for fingerprints and images for evidence.

They have also begun to investigate those who paid for the buses that transported protesters to the capital, Justice Minister Flávio Dino said, adding that the acts amounted to terrorism and coup.

“They will not succeed in destroying Brazilian democracy,” he said.