- Title: Brazil's former leader Bolsonaro praises Elon Musk in Copacabana beach rally
- Date: 21st April 2024
- Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (APRIL 21, 2024) (REUTERS) BRAZIL’S FORMER PRESIDENT JAIR BOLSONARO ARRIVING AT RALLY CROWD IN BRAZIL’S COLOURS, YELLOW AND GREEN, GATHERED ON COPACABANA BEACH BOLSONARO DURING BRAZILIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM BOLSONARO SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) BRAZIL’S FORMER PRESIDENT, JAIR BOLSONARO, SAYING: "He's a man who really values freedom for all of us, h
- Embargoed: 5th May 2024 18:20
- Keywords: Brazil Copacabana Jair Bolsonaro Rio de Janeiro former president march
- Location: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
- City: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: South America / Central America,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001671620042024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro praised billionaire Elon Musk during a rally attended by supporters at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday (April 21).
Organizers of the demonstration estimated attendance at 100,000 people. Authorities did not release a tally.
Right-wing Bolsonaro, the subject of police probes before and during his four years in office, is facing an investigation into his alleged role in a campaign to undermine faith in Brazil's voting system, which culminated in a Jan. 8, 2023, insurrection by thousands of his supporters in Brasilia, the capital.
On Feb. 8, police seized Bolsonaro's passport and accused him of editing a draft decree to overturn the results of the 2022 election, pressing military chiefs to join a coup, and planning to jail Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
Last month, Brazil's federal police formally accused Bolsonaro, a vaccine skeptic during the COVID-19 pandemic, of tampering with his vaccination records, opening the door to criminal charges.
On Sunday Bolsonaro also used the opportunity to praise Elon Musk, co-founder and CEO of electric vehicle maker Tesla TSLA.O and owner of the social media platform X, whom Bolsonaro called a defender of free speech. Bolsonaro urged the crowd to give the billionaire "a round of applause."
After Musk said he would challenge a decision by Moraes ordering X to block certain accounts, lawyers representing Musk told Brazil's Supreme Court that X would comply with every ruling issued by the court or Brazil's top electoral court, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Monday (April 15).
Moraes is investigating "digital militias" that have been accused of spreading fake news and hate messages during the government of Bolsonaro.
The former president cannot run for office until 2030.
(Production: Renato Spyrro, Leonardo Benassatto, Gloria Lopez) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None