After his election defeat, Flavio Bolsonaro issued a statement in which he repeated his claims of voter fraud and accused Brazil's Supreme Court of political persecution. He provided no evidence for his accusations. Bolsonaro said he left for the United States with his family because he believed he faced persecution in Brazil. He thanked Donald Trump and Argentina's President Javier Maile for their support and said that he intended to lead the opposition from abroad. Bolsonaro left Brazil despite a court ban on travel as part of a money laundering investigation. In the past, Bolsonaro participated in the presidential elections, in which he lost to the current head of state, Lula da Silva.