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Bolsonaro has been holed up thousands of miles away in Florida.

Before departing Brazil, the former president had urged his supporters to avoid violence.

Former President Jair Bolsonaro has been staying in Orlando, Fla. Last week, supporters held a rally for him there.Credit...Skyler Swisher/Orlando Sentinel, via Associated Press

Follow our latest updates on Brazil’s anti-democracy riots.

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.”

Sunday evening, the former president criticized the protests, saying on Twitter that peaceful demonstrations were part of democracy, but “destruction and invasions of public buildings, like what occurred today,” were not. He also repudiated President Lula’s comments that Mr. Bolsonaro bore some responsibility for the riots, saying those accusations were “without proof.”

Jack Nicas is the Brazil bureau chief, covering Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. He previously reported on technology from San Francisco and, before joining The Times in 2018, spent seven years at The Wall Street Journal. More about Jack Nicas

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