On Monday, the Supreme Court of Brazil ordered the former President Jair Bolsonaro to be placed under the house arrest in the midst of current legal proceedings on his alleged attempt to destroy the results of the presidential election of 2022.
The case has grabbed the Nation since its foundation in 2023 and has intensified international research, especially since it unfolds under the authority of a justice of the Supreme Court that has recently been sanctioned by the Trump government in the United States.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who supervises the case, accused Bolsonaro, 70, of violating restrictions on the court.
According to the pronunciation, reported for the first time by the Associated Press, Bolsonaro used a Sunday protest in Rio de Janeiro to publicly address supporters with a mobile phone that is owned by one of his three sons, all of whom are legislators.
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Brazilian President Jaair Bolsonaro – gestures during the inauguration ceremony of new ministers in the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, on March 31, 2022. – Bolsonaro fired the most important ministers who will dispute the October elections, including his possible running partner for defense dictator. (Evaristo SA/AFP via Getty images)
Bolsonaro’s short message: “Good afternoon, Copacabana, good afternoon My Brazil, a hug for everyone, this is for our freedom”, was considered a violation of his release.
The Legal Team of Bolsonaro announced plans to appeal, with the argument that the statement was symbolic, was not criminal and did not justify any additional restrictions.
Assembly international fallout
The political commitment has now expanded far beyond Brazil. The case led to the recoil by President Trump, an old Bolsonaro bondmate, who newly imposed American rates on Brazilian import bond to what he called a constant “witch hunt”. His comments have also tensioned the already delicate diplomatic relationship between the two nations.
In a pointed statement about X, the Bureau of Western Hemisfere affairs of the US Department of Foreign Affairs condemned the actions of the Brazilian court and wrote: “It is even more restrictions on the assets of Jair Bolsonaro to defend himself in public. Don’t let Bolsonaro speak!”
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Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)
The agency also warned that persons involved in what it described would be held responsible as “punished behavior”.
The explanation meant a sharp escalation, especially because it closely followed the heels of sanctions imposed by the American Treasury Department, under the government of Trump, against Justice de Moraes. He was designated as a “human rights sanctioned by the US” and accused of arming the judiciary to silence political opponents.
The basis for sanctions
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent accused the Moraes of leading an illegal action:
“Alexandre de Moraes took it as a judge and jury in an illegal witch hunt against us and Brazilian citizens and companies. He is responsible for a oppressive campaign of censorship, random arrests and politicized persecutions – including those to former President Jair Bolsonaro,” Bessent said.
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Former President Jair Bolsonaro addresses supporters during a meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday 25 February 2024. Bolsonaro and some of his former top assists are being examined for accusations they tried to set out a coup to remove his successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
These sanctions were imposed on the basis of Executive Order 13818, published during the first term of Trump in 2017.
Despite the growing international pressure, the Brazilian government does not yet have to give a formal answer.
Details of the case
Brazilian public prosecutors claim that Bolsonaro has led a coordinated attempt to delegitimize the results of the 2022 elections and ultimately to be canceled out, including planning violent acts and even an alleged murder plot on President Luiz in Moraes. Bolsonaro lost the election with a narrow margin.
A panel of the judges of the Supreme Court accepted the charges in March and eventually ordered Bolsonaro to stand. On Monday arrest ruling builds on earlier restrictions: a single monitor, a curfew and a travel ban and the former president is limited to BrasÃlia despite his deep political roots in Rio de Janeiro.
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A former Captain of the Army and a deep polarizing figure, Bolsonaro is now joining a short but consistent list of former Brazilian presidents who have been arrested since the return of the country to democracy in 1985, a system that he has often criticized and linked to the militar dictation that he once praised.
Justice De Moraes, who defended the decision of the court, wrote: “The judiciary will not be mocked to be mocked. Justice applies to everyone as much as the defendant who consciously violates precautions – especially for the second time – have legal consequences.”
