VIDEO: Flávio Bolsonaro arrives in Miami under umbrellas as security shields him from the press

Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro was shielded by several umbrellas held by security personnel as he left Miami’s Opa-locka Executive Airport and made his way to a black SUV, accompanied by his family, according to images circulating on social media.

The footage shows security personnel using large umbrellas to block journalists and bystanders from seeing Bolsonaro and his companions as they boarded the waiting vehicle. The unusual security operation, which involved pushing through the crowd and quickly escorting the family into the SUV, caused confusion outside the airport.

Bolsonaro had previously been seen arriving in the United States aboard a private plane, reportedly in defiance of a travel restriction imposed by a judge of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF), who had ordered him to surrender his passport over concerns that he might flee the country.

According to Brazilian news outlet G1, Bolsonaro arrived in Miami with his wife and two daughters after what was described as a secret operation. Reports said he had traveled from Argentina by land, made a brief stop in Ecuador and then continued to the United States, a route intended to avoid Brazilian airspace.

After the election defeat

On October 26, a day after losing the second round of the election, Brazil’s Federal Police reportedly notified Bolsonaro that he had to surrender his passport. The notification came amid several ongoing investigations that allegedly link him to money laundering and illegal campaign financing.

His father, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison over an attempted coup against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022.

On October 27, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would support allowing Flávio Bolsonaro to enter the United States. The Associated Press reported that a senior State Department official said Bolsonaro and his family would receive U.S. visas, which would allow them to enter the country legally.

The circumstances surrounding his departure from Brazil and arrival in the United States remain central to reports about the case.