Topline
Jason Miller, an ex-top aide to President Donald Trump, who runs Gettr, a pro-Trump social network platform, confirmed that he was taken into custody and interrogated by Brazilian police on Tuesday, after meeting with President Jair Bolsonaro.
Jason Miller, former President Donald Trump's advisor, arrives at the Capitol on Thursday, February 11, 2021 to begin the third day of the second... [+] impeachment case against Trump in the Senate. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP). ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Key Facts
Miller stated to Forbes that he and others were traveling together for the Conservative Political Action Conference in Brazil. They were interrogated for three hours at the airport in Brasilia. According to Metrpoles, a Brazilian news outlet, Miller claimed that he wasn't being accused of any wrongdoing. He also stated that the police only wanted to talk to him. Miller was later allowed to fly home to the United States. Miller was taken into custody by Brazilian federal police in an investigation into anti-democratic acts following a meeting with Bolsonaro. According to the outlet Miller was ordered to be interrogated by Justice Alexandre De Moraes of the Brazilian Supreme Court. He opened in August an investigation into Bolsonaro's unsubstantiated claims that the 2022 Brazilian federal elections would be fraught with fraud. Forbes reached out to Miller, as well as the Brazilian police, for comments.
Important Background
Miller was a former top adviser to Trump's presidential campaign and served as his spokesperson post-presidential until June. He then left Trump's team to start Gettr, which was a response to Trump's ban on several social media platforms. Trump, like Bolsonaro has falsely claimed that his 2020 election loss was due to widespread fraud statements that Miller cheered on.
Tangent
Matthew Tyrmand, a conservative activist, tweeted pictures of himself with Miller, Bolsonaro, and Bolsonaros son Eduardo. He was also tagged by Bolsonaros other son Flavio (a Brazilian senator) and Ernest Arajo, former Brazilian Minister for Foreign Affairs. Tyrmand claimed that Miller was being interrogated at the Supreme Court by anti-Bolsonaristas.
