Brazilian federal police have told the supreme court they found a document on Jair Bolsonaro's phone suggesting the former president planned to seek political asylum in Argentina before his trial for allegedly plotting a military coup.
The undated draft letter, reportedly saved on Bolsonaro's phone two days after his passport was seized in February 2024, is addressed to Argentina's President Javier Milei. It describes Bolsonaro as "a politically persecuted person" and claims he faced "imminent arrest" that would be "unjust, illegal, arbitrary and unconstitutional". An Argentine government source told Reuters that Milei's office had not received such a letter.
Bolsonaro, who denies the charges, could face a jail term of more than 40 years if convicted. The supreme court is due to hear his case from 2 to 12 September. He is currently under house arrest in Brasília after violating a social media ban, and has already been barred from standing in next year's presidential election.
In a 170-page report, police also formally accused Bolsonaro and his congressman son Eduardo of trying to interfere in the trial by urging US officials to pressure the court. Eduardo has been lobbying the Trump administration, which imposed tariffs on Brazilian imports and sanctioned the presiding judge, Alexandre de Moraes. Eight supreme court justices have been stripped of their US visas.
Separately, evangelical pastor Silas Malafaia, a prominent Bolsonaro supporter, has been questioned by police and ordered to surrender his passports and avoid contact with the former president. The police report also exposed infighting among Bolsonaro's allies ahead of the verdict.
