Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is calling for an end to former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's exile in Florida in the wake of his supporters storming Brazil's congress and presidential palace.
Two days before his term ended Jan. 1, and before the inauguration of leftist Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva, Bolsonaro flew to Florida, where he is reportedly staying in suburban Orlando.
On Sunday, his supporters back home stormed Brazil's presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court, triggering comparisons with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots in Washington, D.C., — and calls from Lula to find and punish the protesters.
"Nearly 2 years to the day the US Capitol was attacked by fascists, we see fascist movements abroad attempt to do the same in Brazil," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. "We must stand in solidarity with Lula's democratically elected government."
Bolsonaro denounced the actions of his supporters, CNN reported, but hasn't explicitly conceded his election loss.
President Joe Biden has condemned the violence in Brazil, and urged that "the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined."
John Feeley, who was the U.S. ambassador to Panama from 2016-2018 — when the Central American nation sought the extradition of its former President Ricardo Martinelli — said the most immediate threat to Bolsonaro would come if his U.S. visa were revoked, Reuters reported.
"The United States — or any sovereign nation for that matter — may remove a foreigner, even one who entered legally on a visa, for any reason," Feeley said. "It's a purely sovereign decision for which no legal justification is required."
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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