US Democrats urge FBI probe into Brazil Capitol attack planning on American soil

Four days after supporters of Jair Bolsonaro ransacked Brazil's Three Powers Plaza in Brasília on January 8th, forty-six Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to President Joe Biden with a direct request: investigate whether the attack was planned on American soil, and revoke the former president's diplomatic visa.

Bolsonaro had left Brazil on December 30th aboard a military aircraft, departing before his successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, could be sworn in. He arrived in Florida carrying what lawmakers believed to be an A-1 diplomatic visa—credentials typically reserved for sitting heads of state. By the time the letter was sent on the evening of January 11th, Bolsonaro was living in Orlando, having briefly checked into a hospital for an intestinal obstruction but telling CNN he intended to remain in the United States through at least the end of January.

The Democratic lawmakers, led by Joaquín Castro, a senior minority representative on the House Committee on Western Hemisphere Affairs, connected Bolsonaro directly to the violence. They pointed to months of baseless claims about election fraud, his refusal to participate in the transfer of power, and his attacks on members of Brazil's Supreme Court as evidence of his role in orchestrating the assault on the Palácio do Planalto, Congress, and the federal judiciary. Even after the Sunday violence, Bolsonaro had shared a video on social media claiming that Lula was not elected but rather "chosen by the Supreme Court and the Electoral Court." The lawmakers asked Biden to ensure the United States would not become a refuge for an authoritarian who had inspired such violence against democratic institutions.

The letter carried particular weight because it echoed the American experience. Two years earlier, on January 6, 2021, supporters of Donald Trump had stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress certified Biden's victory. Five people died in that attack, and hundreds were arrested and convicted or awaiting trial. The images from Brasília—the ransacked government buildings, the destruction of property, the assault on the seat of power—struck a nerve with American lawmakers who had lived through their own institutional crisis. The comparison was unavoidable and intentional.

The Democrats made three specific demands. First, they asked the FBI to investigate whether and how the attacks on the Three Powers Plaza were planned within American territory. Second, they called for Biden to hold accountable anyone in Florida who may have mentored or financed the violence. Third, they requested that Biden revoke Bolsonaro's diplomatic visa, arguing that since he was no longer president of Brazil and held no official position, there was no legal basis for him to remain in the country under diplomatic protection.

Bolsonaro's connections to Trump's inner circle gave the request additional urgency. He was a close ally of the former president and maintained relationships with key Trump advisers including Steve Bannon and Jason Miller. A separate joint statement released the same day by thirty-five American lawmakers and thirty-nine Brazilian legislators alleged that far-right agitators in both countries were coordinating efforts to attack democracy on both sides of the Atlantic, citing meetings between Bolsonaro's son, Eduardo, and Trump's former aides who had encouraged the elder Bolsonaro to contest Brazil's election results.

The Biden administration's response was measured. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stated that Brazil had not formally requested cooperation for an investigation nor filed an extradition request. Yet the letter itself served a dual purpose: it gave voice to concerns within the Democratic base that the White House might find politically delicate to express publicly, while simultaneously signaling to the Biden administration what Congress wanted to see happen. The administration had already moved quickly to support Lula—Biden called within forty minutes of the election results being announced, and the Senate had approved a resolution recommending that the U.S. recognize the election outcome and warning of consequences if a military coup occurred. Now Congress was pushing for action on the question of whether American soil had been used to plan an attack on a democratic ally.