Details Emerge About Jair Bolsonaro After Brazil Riots, Ex-President Hospitalized In Orlando
After thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the country's Congress, Supreme Court and presidential palace on Sunday, there have been questions as to the status of the controversial right-wing leader.
There had already been reports that Bolsonaro had traveled to Florida days before new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office. Bolsonaro had kept a low profile while in the U.S.
According to a report Monday from Brazilian publication O Globo, Bolsonaro was admitted to a hospital in Orlando due to abdominal pain.
Bolsonaro, 67, was stabbed in the torso while campaigning in the streets in September 2018. He has been hospitalized multiple times with gut blockages.
Some had cast doubt that the stabbing was real, citing Bolsonaro wanting to avoid a televised debate, while discounting a press conference by the medical team from a private hospital that operated on him.
Police said the attacker had confessed to the stabbing. A judge had declared the attacker could not be jailed because he was mentally ill and ordered him to a prison mental facility.
There are also questions as to what the U.S. should do with Bolsonaro after the riots, which occurred after he lost broad protections from prosecution in Brazil.
"Bolsonaro should not be in Florida," Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, told CNN. "The United States should not be a refuge for this authoritarian who has inspired domestic terrorism in Brazil. He should be sent back to Brazil."
Bolsonaro could face criminal and electoral investigations that lead to his arrest or deny him from running for office.
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