Why Jair Bolsonaro Won't Be Extradited From Florida

In response to the storming of Brazil's Congress, some U.S. politicians have said the country's far-right former president, Jair Bolsonaro, should be "extradited" from Florida, where he is living, but this is unlikely to happen.

On Sunday, Bolsonaro supporters burst into the country's Congress building, as well as the presidential palace and Supreme Court, in an eerily similar fashion to the January 6 Capitol riots.

The protests came a week after Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was sworn in as president after narrowly defeating Bolsonaro in an October run-off election. Bolsonaro missed Lula's inauguration because he had flown to Florida two days earlier. It is unclear how long he will remain in Florida, but The New York Times said he planned to stay at least a month.

Amid anger over the storming of the seat of power in Brasilia, some Democrats have called for Bolsonaro to be denied "refuge" in Florida.

U.S. Representive Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat, took to Twitter to call for Bolsonaro to be denied a safe haven in Florida, home of Bolsonaro's ally, former president Donald Trump.

She tweeted: "Two years ago our Capitol was attacked by fanatics, now we are watching it happen in Brazil.

"Solidarity with Lula and the Brazilian people. Democracies around the world must stand united to condemn this attack on democracy.

"Bolsonaro should not be given refuge in Florida."

New York Democrat Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made a similar call on Twitter.

Sharing a video of the demonstration, she tweeted: "Nearly 2 years to the day [after] the U.S. Capitol was attacked by fascists, we see fascist movements abroad attempt to do the same in Brazil.

"We must stand in solidarity with Lula's democratically elected government. The U.S. must cease granting refuge to Bolsonaro in Florida."

While some politicians have suggested the U.S. should simply not allow Bolsonaro to stay in Florida, others have argued America should actively work to have the former president sent back to Brazil.

Speaking on CNN on Sunday, Representative Joaquin Castro, a Texas Democrat, said Bolsonaro had inspired "domestic terrorists" and should be "extradited".

This is unlikely to happen as Brazil has not called for his extradition. While the former president is under investigation in several cases, he has not been charged with any crime.

Speaking to CNN's Jim Acosta, Castro said: "Bolsonaro was an authoritarian leader, and I stand with the democratically elected leadership in Brazil.

"He basically used the Trump playbook to inspire domestic terrorists to try to take over the government.

"You are right, it looks a lot like January 6 in the United States and right now Bolsonaro is in Florida and he is actually very close to Trump.

"He should be extradited to Brazil," he said.

"He is a dangerous man and they should send him back to his home country of Brazil."

Any attempt to cut short Bolsonaro's stay in Florida might also present thorny legal and diplomatic issues. As Bolsonaro entered the U.S. when he was still head of state, he is likely to have used his A-1 visa, according to a Reuters report. This visa is reserved for heads of state and has no time limit, unlike other visas.

U.S. President Joe Biden took to social media on Sunday to condemn the actions of Bolsonaro supporters, but he did not comment on the former president's status in the U.S.

Newsweek has contacted the U.S. State Department and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' office for comment.