Senator claims Brazilian presidency from US

Flavio Bolsonaro departed Brazil for the United States following his loss in Sunday's presidential election. He issued his first public statement on Wednesday from American soil, asserting that he remains the country's legitimate leader.

The senator claimed the vote was manipulated. "On Sunday night, I watched in horror as electoral fraud unfolded right before my eyes," he said. He described the post-election actions against him as a "politically motivated witch hunt intended to hold me hostage."

Bolsonaro addressed the Brazilian people and the international community directly. "I address the Brazilian people and the international community as the true elected president of Brazil," he stated. He thanked U.S. President Donald Trump and the American people for their welcome.

He rejected the notion that he fled the country. "I did not flee Brazil. I left for Brazil's sake," he said. Bolsonaro attributed his move to the "politicization of the justice system in Brazil," explaining that he brought his family to the U.S. to escape what he called a "state of exception."

The former senator said he knew the consequences of losing were inevitable. He told the international community to "not normalize what is happening in Brazil." He plans to lead the opposition from the United States, though he did not specify the mechanisms for doing so.