Brazil's Supreme Court has ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to be placed under house arrest after finding him to have violated a ban on social media, deepening a standoff between the court and the politician accused of plotting a coup.
Bolsonaro is facing a Supreme Court trial over allegations that he planned to stay in power after losing the 2022 election to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. US President Donald Trump has sought to punish Brazil, describing Bolsonaro's trial as politically motivated and imposing steep punitive tariffs on Latin America's largest economy. Bolsonaro, 70, has been banned from using social media during the trial and third parties have also been barred from distributing his public statements.
But on Sunday, his allies challenged the order by sharing online footage of a conversation between Bolsonaro and his eldest son, Flavio, at a rally. Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes reacted sharply, declaring that justice will not allow a defendant to be “treated like a fool” because of his “political and economic power.”
Criticizing Bolsonaro for “constantly” violating the restrictions the court imposed on him during his trial, the judge ordered that he be placed under house arrest and serve the sentence at his home in the capital, Brasilia. He also banned the former president, who served from 2019 to 2022, from receiving visitors, except for lawyers, and from using a mobile phone. The judge also warned that any violation of these restrictions would lead to his arrest.
Washington condemned the new restrictions, and on Monday evening the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the US State Department issued a statement on the matter.
“Minister Alexandre de Moraes, already sanctioned by the United States for human rights violations, continues to use Brazilian institutions to silence the opposition and threaten democracy,” the bureau’s statement, published on X, said. “Let Bolsonaro speak!”
US officials added that they would “hold accountable all those who collaborate with or facilitate sanctioned actions.” Last month, Judge Moraes ordered Bolsonaro to wear an electronic bracelet on his ankle and imposed a ban on the use of social media.
Trump reacted to this decision by banning Judge Moraes from entering the US and freezing his assets in US banks. Prosecutors accuse Bolsonaro and seven other defendants of trying to overturn the 2022 election result so that Bolsonaro would remain in power, but this plan failed, because according to prosecutors, the military refused to be part of it.
The trial is expected to conclude in the coming weeks and, if found guilty, Bolsonaro could face up to 40 years in prison. In January 2023, Bolsonaro's supporters entered the Brazilian Congress after Lula was inaugurated as president. Despite being banned from political life, Bolsonaro hopes to return to power in Brazil's 2026 presidential elections. /REL
