When his supporters stormed Brazil’s Congress and presidential offices on Sunday to protest what they falsely claim was a stolen election, Jair Bolsonaro was believed to be thousands of miles away.
Facing various investigations from his time in office, Mr. Bolsonaro flew to Florida in late December with plans to stay for at least a month. He has been in Orlando, living in a rented house owned by a professional mixed-martial-arts fighter a few miles from Disney World.
Mr. Bolsonaro has long questioned the reliability of Brazil’s election systems — without evidence — and he refused to concede unequivocally when he lost in October to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who took office on Jan. 1.
Yet before departing for Florida in the final days of his presidency, Mr. Bolsonaro called on his supporters to avoid violence and suggested that they move on.
“We live in a democracy or we don’t,” he said in a recorded statement. “No one wants an adventure.”
On Sunday, the former president offered no immediate comment on the storming of the presidential offices.
