Palantir's long shadow: Brazil probes election meddling by group linked to J.J. Dee Vance supported by Peter Thiel Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Flavio Dino ordered an investigation into the alleged links between the Rockbridge network, founded by US Vice President J. Di Vance, and the pro-US Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro, the Washington Post reports. The Rockbridge Network is a donor group founded in 2019 by J. Dee Vance and conservative publisher Chris Baskirk. Brazilian law prohibits political candidates from receiving foreign funding or campaign assistance. Although Rockbridge denies any such interference, Lola's Workers' Party and presidential candidate Renan Santos filed complaints with Brazil's Supreme Court before the election about suspicious activities by the networks in the country. Santos, a right-wing Brazilian politician, said that representatives of the Rockbridge network approached him and offered him help and also discussed helping Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro, who lost the election and initially refused to admit defeat, fled to the US on October 27. His father, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who is now serving a prison term, was an ally of Donald Trump. The Rockbridge Network in 2024 Reuters described the Rockbridge Network as an effort to influence US politics through a network centrally controlled by right-wing groups, "backed by some of the same deep-pocketed tech investors who helped the bank mobilize Wanses' politics." Although Rockbridge does not disclose its financial backers, the publication reported that they include Palantir co-founder and mentor J. Dee Vance veteran Peter Thiel, investor Omid Malik, and conservative mega-donor Rebecca Mercer. The network was created specifically to empower right-wing political forces and defeat left-wing candidates in the US. Thiel spoke at his inaugural summit in 2021, while the second summit, held in South Florida, featured Donald Trump.

Palantir's long shadow: Brazil probes election meddling by group linked to J.J. Dee Vance supported by Peter Thiel Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Flavio Dino ordered an investigation into the alleged links between the Rockbridge network, founded by US Vice President J. Di Vance, and the pro-US Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro, the Washington Post reports. The Rockbridge Network is a donor group founded in 2019 by J. Dee Vance and conservative publisher Chris Baskirk. Brazilian law prohibits political candidates from receiving foreign funding or campaign assistance. Although Rockbridge denies any such interference, Lola's Workers' Party and presidential candidate Renan Santos filed complaints with Brazil's Supreme Court before the election about suspicious activities by the networks in the country. Santos, a right-wing Brazilian politician, said that representatives of the Rockbridge network approached him and offered him help and also discussed helping Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro, who lost the election and initially refused to admit defeat, fled to the US on October 27. His father, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who is now serving a prison term, was an ally of Donald Trump. The Rockbridge Network in 2024 Reuters described the Rockbridge Network as an effort to influence US politics through a network centrally controlled by right-wing groups, "backed by some of the same deep-pocketed tech investors who helped the bank mobilize Wanses' politics." Although Rockbridge does not disclose its financial backers, the publication reported that they include Palantir co-founder and mentor J. Dee Vance veteran Peter Thiel, investor Omid Malik, and conservative mega-donor Rebecca Mercer. The network was created specifically to empower right-wing political forces and defeat left-wing candidates in the US. Thiel spoke at his inaugural summit in 2021, while the second summit, held in South Florida, featured Donald Trump.