Brazil’s ex-President Jair Bolsonaro has applied to extend his stay in the United States on a six-month visitor’s visa amid claims that he wants to escape facing a lawsuit on returning home.

The Financial Times first confirmed the development by citing Mr Bolsonaro’s immigration lawyer, Felipe Alexandre.

The 67-year-old politician travelled to Florida in December, two days after the inauguration of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as Brazil’s new president.

In the wake of Mr Lula’s inauguration, thousands of Mr Bolsonaro’s die-hard supporters trooped to the street across Brazil, protesting the emergence of the incumbent president.

The protesters invaded and damaged government buildings while demanding the election that brought Mr Lula to power be overturned.

Following the violence across various cities in the country, authorities in Brazil launched an investigation into the part Mr Bolsonaro played in the inciting attacks to topple a democratically elected government official.

It is one of several pending legal issues awaiting the former president once he returns home from the U.S.

Mr Bolsonaro, reported to have entered the U.S. on an A-1 visa, would not be entitled to immunity from legal prosecution once he returns to Brazil.

The A-1 visa is reserved for sitting heads of state.