A former Brazilian leader once called the “Trump of the Tropics” was indicted Tuesday on charges he falsified his COVID-19 vaccination status in 2021 and 2022.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is accused of entering false data into his country's public health database so that he, his daughter and others in his circle would be registered as vaccinated, according to The Associated Press.
Several of Bolsonaro’s former aides also were indicted.
Police detective Fábio Alvarez Shor said an investigation of the public health system "found several false insertions between November 2021 and December 2022, and also many actions of using fraudulent documents."
One instance in the indictment came prior to Bolsonaro’s three-month visit to Florida after he lost the 2022 election to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, according to The New York Times.
Brazilian police said the Biden administration’s Justice Department has been asked to determine whether the 68-year-old politician used a phony vaccination card to enter the U.S., which could trigger more charges.
The former Brazilian leader's attorney, Fábio Wajngarten, said the indictment, to which he was not given access, was “absurd,” according to AP.
“When he was president, he was completely exempted from showing any kind of certificate on his trips. This is political persecution and an attempt to void the enormous political capital that has only grown,” Wajngarten said.
Bolsonaro was a staunch critic of the COVID-19 vaccines.
If he is convicted, he could be in jail for two to 12 years, legal analyst Zilan Costa said.
Brazil’s Bolsonaro is getting the Trump treatment….
He’s been indicted for allegedly falsifying his vaccination status.
As far as I understand, Bolsonaro made it clear he was never going to get it publicly, but offered people the option to if they wanted it.… pic.twitter.com/THTldg98pI
— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) March 19, 2024
Bolsonaro remains popular with his supporters. In February, thousands of people turned out in Sao Paulo to support him after he was accused of trying to illegally retain power following the 2022 election.
"We couldn't let our captain down at such a difficult time for him," Antonio Carlos, 76, said at the time, according to France's Le Monde.
"The judges want to imprison Bolsonaro because he's an honest man," Carlos said.
"We're also here to defend our freedom -- Brazil is sinking into dictatorship," he said. "All of this is nonsense. Bolsonaro is a victim of persecution!"
During his years as president, Bolsonaro was compared to former President Donald Trump, according to Reuters.
