Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was confined to house arrest after allegedly using social media in violation of a court order banning its use during his prosecution.
In a Monday ruling, Alexandre de Moraes, a Supreme Court justice and the judge responsible for Bolsonaro’s case, alleged that the former president had violated the terms of his restraining order by sharing posts through his sons’ and allies’ social media accounts. Moraes ordered authorities to seize his cellphone and confine him to house arrest, limiting visits to his family and allies.
Moraes claimed that Bolsonaro had used third-party social media accounts to spread messages calling for attacks against the Supreme Court and the judiciary, according to the BBC.
The former president briefly spoke through a megaphone at a rally in his favor on Sunday after being handed it by his son Flávio.
The moves further restricting the former president are likely to further anger Washington, which leveled 40% tariffs against Brazil last week, partially due to Bolsonaro’s prosecution. Moraes was personally sanctioned by the United States over his role in the case.
In the executive order announcing the tariffs, President Donald Trump accused members of the Brazilian government of violating the human rights of U.S. citizens and Brazilians. He said the actions taken by Brasília represent an “unusual and extraordinary threat,” moving him to declare a national emergency.
He said the current government was “persecuting” Bolsonaro. Analysts have viewed Bolsonaro’s trial as the casus belli that prompted Trump’s aggressive moves against the country.
“Political persecution, through drummed-up prosecutions, threatens the orderly development of Brazil’s political, administrative, and economic institutions, including undermining the ability of Brazil to hold a free and fair election of the presidency in 2026,” he said.
The same day, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions against Moraes shortly before the order was announced.
“De Moraes is responsible for an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights, and politicized prosecutions, including against former President Jair Bolsonaro,” Bessent said in a statement. “Today’s action makes clear that Treasury will continue to hold accountable those who threaten U.S. interests and the freedoms of our citizens.”
Moraes has earned the ire of U.S. conservatives over his aggressive moves against social media companies, including a conflict with X that resulted in its temporary ban in the country.
In February, Brazilian Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet charged Bolsonaro with attempting a coup to overthrow Brazil’s democratic order.
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The indictment alleged that prosecutors obtained extensive evidence showing Bolsonaro approved a plot to assassinate his electoral rival, current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Moraes. Lula was to be poisoned, while Moraes was to be shot by special forces, according to the indictment. Though ultimately abandoned, the plotters went so far as to begin tracking Moraes’s movements, according to the New York Times.
Bolsonaro approached his indictment similarly to Trump, denouncing it as “the weaponization of the justice system” and comparing himself to the U.S. president.