Office Hours: Has the failure to hold Trump accountable encouraged the global anti-democracy movement?

Is Brazil an example?

The events that unfolded in Brazil on Sunday, when supporters of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro’s stormed government buildings — smashing windows and assaulting police — were a chilling echo of the pro-Trump attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

No surprise. Bolsonaro had modeled his presidency after Trump’s. He repeatedly accused the media of reporting “fake news.” He spent months before Brazil’s October election predicting mass fraud, then refused to concede defeat when he lost. (Another parallel: Immediately after Sunday’s rioting, Trump’s former campaign manager Steve Bannon labeled the Brazilian insurrectionists “freedom fighters.”)

Will Bolsonaro be held accountable? Like his mentor, he’s now living his post-presidency in Florida. Like Trump, Bolsonaro hasn’t yet faced any criminal charges — but the attack on Brazil’s government occurred just last Sunday. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lulu Da Silva’s administration has not yet requested Bolsonaro’s extradition to face criminal charges.