Former Trump spokesman Jason Miller’s detention for three hours in Brazil is almost certainly connected to his support for a pro-Bolsonaro, anti-democratic insurrection there a la the January 6th insurrection here.
From The Independent:
“This afternoon my travelling party was questioned for three hours at the airport in Brasilia, after having attended this weekend’s CPAC Brasil Conference,” Mr Miller said in a statement to The Independent.
“We were not accused of any wrongdoing, and told only that they ‘wanted to talk’. We informed them that we had nothing to say and were eventually released to fly back to the United States. Our goal of sharing free speech around the world continues!” he added.
But it’s pretty obvious Miller’s interest in Brazil is about a lot more than "sharing free speech."
The Independent also reports that about 150 former and current democratic leaders from 26 countries have written an open letter warning that Brazil’s Trumpy President, Jair Bolsonaro, “has escalated his attacks on Brazil’s democratic institutions in recent weeks.” Now, the letter states, “his allies – including white supremacist groups, military police, and public officials at every level of government – are preparing a nation-wide march against the Supreme Court and Congress on 7 September, stoking fears of a coup in the world’s third-largest democracy.”
It’s not clear what is happening with the uprising, which seems to have already begun. But there’s little doubt that Miller is working to bolster Brazil's anti-democratic president.
Here are recent photos of Miller with the Bolsonaros, allegedly helping them plot this January 6th style coup attempt in Brazil. pic.twitter.com/Hk20aG8qOa
— MeidasTouch.com (@MeidasTouch) September 7, 2021
Trump world’s hands are all over this. Don Jr. was set to go to Brazil as well, but canceled due to Hurricane Ida. Bolsonaro’s son is the head of “The Movement,” Steve Bannon’s populist organization in Brazil. Make no mistake: they are trying to destroy democracy everywhere. pic.twitter.com/rDjVlWBV5p
— MeidasTouch.com (@MeidasTouch) September 7, 2021
This is insane. Bolsonaro is copying the US insurrection & has close ties to Steve Bannon & yet US media is ignoring all of it. Bolsonaro’s son is literally the leader of Bannon’s “Movement” in Brazil & he was in Washington on January 6 & attended Lindell’s symposium. 1/ https://t.co/wG7hXEjaa8
— Jennifer Cohn ✍🏻 📢 (@jennycohn1) September 7, 2021
Media Matters’ John Whitehouse caught Miller advocating for Bolsonaro’s supporters to Steve Bannon on Monday. After boasting that Brazilians are the second-largest users of Miller’s social media site Gettr, Miller gushed, “What I see here, Steve, is so much love and so much enthusiasm for free speech. And especially the folks who are the Bolsonaro supporters are being de-platformed, they’re being shadow-banned.”
Miller went on to describe the anti-democratic demonstrations as “upwards of a half million proud patriots who will be showing their solidarity with their country members.” He added “the excitement is here. Steve, this is like going to the biggest fourth of July party you have ever seen, except ten times bigger. … I love these people, it’s great.”
Former Trump adviser Jason Miller has allegedly been detained in Brazil. Here he is yesterday talking about being with Bolsonaro. pic.twitter.com/3JolGRbCgT
— John Whitehouse+ (@existentialfish) September 7, 2021
