- Bolsonaro faces SC -Law for alleged plot to stick to power.
- Politician banned from social media in the duration of the procedure.
- The United States condemns house arrest, promises to keep everyone in charge.
A Brazilian judge has placed former President Jair Bolsonaro under house arrest for breaking a social media ban and escalating a dramatic standoff between the court and the politician accused of planning a coup.
Bolsonaro is in trial at the Supreme Court for allegedly planning to adhere to power after losing the 2022 election to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
President Donald Trump has tried to punish Brazil, a prolonged American ally, for what he sees as a politically motivated “witch -hunting” aimed at Bolsonaro by imposing eye -wandering tariffs on Latin America’s largest economy.
The 70-year-old Bolsonaro is banned from social media during the procedure, and third parties are prevented from sharing his public remarks.
But on Sunday, his ally defied the order by sharing recordings online with a call between former Army Captain and his eldest son Flavio at a solidarity rally in Rio de Janeiro.
Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes reacted furiously, declaring that the judiciary would not allow an defendant to “treat it like a fool” because of his “political and economic power.”
When he criticized Bolsonaro’s “repeated failure” for complying with the court’s limitations on him during trial, he placed him under house arrest in his home in the capital Brasilia.
He also prevented the country’s former leader (2019-2022) from receiving visitors, except for his lawyers and from using mobile phones, warning that any new violation would lead to his detention.
Several cell phones were seized in his home Monday, police said.
Washington condemned the new restrictions Monday night with the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemispere Affairs, who issued a statement of X.
“Minister Alexandre de Moraes, already sanctioned by the United States for human rights violations, continues to use Brazilian institutions to dampen the opposition and threaten democracy,” the agency released. “Let Bolsonaro talk!”
US officials added that they would “hold responsible for all those who cooperate with or facilitate sanctioned behavior”.
The American post was shared by Bolsonaro’s politician son Eduardo Bolsonaro, who had successfully lobbed Washington to take punishing acts against Brazil in the case.
In a separate post, he wrote: “Brazil is no longer a democracy”.
He called Moraes, who presides in Bolsonaro’s trial and has styled a defender of Brazilian democracy in the light of the far right, a “without control psychopath.”
Last month, Moraes Bolsonaro ordered an ankle bracelet and introduced the social media ban.
Trump responded in a hitherto unprecedented way by banning moras from the United States and freezing his assets in US banks.
Trump’s pressure campaign
Trump’s pre -campaign has angry many Brazilians, but loved him to Bolsonaro’s conservative base.
At rallies in Rio, Brasilia and Sao Paulo on Sunday, some protesters waved us flags or held signs with “Thanks Trump”.
Bolsonaro did not attend the rallies after being ordered by the Supreme Court to stay home at night and on the weekends throughout the trial.
Prosecutors say he and seven co-accused tried to overthrow his 2022 election in a plot that only failed because the military did not get on board.
He faces a 40-year verdict if he is convicted of the trial, which is expected to pack up in the coming weeks.
Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed Brazil’s Congress in January 2023, after Lula was inaugurated, searching the chambers and attacking police, in scenes reminiscent of an attack by Trump supporters at US Capitol two years before.
Despite being prevented from running, Bolsonaro hopes to mount a Trump style comeback in Brazil’s presidential election in 2026.
Lula, 79, has said he can seek a fourth period, health information.
Last year he was hospitalized for a brain haemorrhage caused by a bathroom drop.
