U.S. senator blames Bolsonaro for January 8 riots, questions ‘safe haven’

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, on Wednesday blamed former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for the January 8 riots in Brasília, when his far-right supporters stormed the buildings housing all three branches of government. Mr. Menendez also questioned a State Department official about giving the former head of state “safe haven” in the U.S.

During a committee hearing titled “The Future of U.S.-Brazil Relations,” Mr. Menendez spoke of the similarities between the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol and what he called “its Brazilian sequel on January 8 [2023].” 

The attack in Brasília, he said, “reminds us that we must stand vigilant against anyone, anywhere, who corrodes democratic norms, even when those attacks come from the highest levels of government.”

“We know that former President Jair Bolsonaro, through his lies and disinformation, fomented the attacks on Brazil’s democracy,” Mr. Menendez added.

Jair Bolsonaro left...