US congressman Jamie Raskin told representatives of Brazilian civil society entities that he plans to cite Brazil in investigations carried out by the special committee of the US House that investigates the invasion of the Capitol, on January 6, 2021, by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. .
The Democratic congressman met this Friday (29) with a Brazilian delegation that is in Washington. According to the report of participants at the meeting, he would have been surprised to learn that federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) was in the American capital days before the invasion of Congress and met with people close to Trump.
Raskin told the group of Brazilians that one of the lines of investigation carried out by Congress on January 6 must now involve the international connections of the American extreme right. Thus, Eduardo’s case may be included among the topics to be analyzed shortly by the committee.
“The meeting for me was very educational. It is clear that pro-democracy and pro-human rights forces in Brazil are afraid that something similar to what happened in the US on January 6 [de 2021] happen in your country,” Raskin said after the meeting.
Asked by journalists about the possibility of mentioning Brazil in the commission’s final report, he said he was not sure to what extent it would go into specific cases. “Thomas Paine said the US would be a haven for people fleeing political and economic oppression, and I hope the country will fulfill that role in this century, defeating fascism and playing a role in supporting democracies, democratic institutions and elections in the United States. All the world.”
In February last year, the American websites Media Matters and Proof pointed out that Eduardo, son of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), would have met with businessman Michael Lindell and other Trump allies involved in planning the attack on Congress.
At the time, the Brazilian deputy denied having participated in secret meetings about the invasion. He was in Washington that week and met with Ivanka Trump, the Republican’s daughter, and Jared Kushner, Ivanka’s husband and aide to the then president, on January 4. THE Sheet contacted the press office and Eduardo’s office this Friday, but did not receive a response until the publication of this text.
Far-right groups are accused of having been directly involved in the planning and attack on Capitol Hill, which aimed to try to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election, the last step to confirm Trump’s defeat. The Republican has accused, since the election, that the vote was rigged, but his allegations have never been proven.
In Brazil, Bolsonaro has also made a series of attacks on the electoral system, which include coup threats and the recycling of already-debunked conspiracy theories, as part of his re-election campaign. This behavior fuels fears that the president may not accept the outcome in the event of defeat and that his supporters could attempt a move like the 6 de Janeiro one.
“The far right around the world has shown massive disrespect for democracy and institutions. I learned that President Bolsonaro has been publicly critical of the electoral process and has been promoting big lies about it, which could be a great prelude to an attempt to attack the electoral process or to stand on the sidelines of that process if it loses,” said Raskin.
“This is a typical mark of fascist parties. They end up encouraging violence, which makes the situation worse. I want to make sure that the US will stand very strongly on the side of democratic institutions in Brazil.”
Since the beginning of his father’s term, Eduardo Bolsonaro has sought to get closer to leaders of the conservative right in other countries and to Trump allies, such as strategist Steve Bannon — recently convicted of contempt of the Congressional commission.
The entourage of 19 Brazilian entities that met with Raskin went to Washington this week to talk about the risk of a coup in Brazil and Bolsonaro’s threats to the electoral system. The group — which includes Article 19, Conectas, the Arns Commission, Greenpeace Brasil, Apib (Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil) and the Vladimir Herzog Institute — had meetings at the State Department and with Senator Bernie Sanders, among other parliamentarians.
