Brazil Supreme Court orders house arrest of ex-president Bolsonaro.
Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered the house arrest of former President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday as he awaits trial over an alleged coup plot to overturn his 2022 election loss, which the Trump ally denies.
The move is likely to infuriate President Trump, who has demanded that Brazil drop criminal charges against Bolsonaro in a letter threatening to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports.
- The U.S. Treasury Department last week imposed sanctions on the Brazilian judge leading the investigation into Bolsonaro.
Driving the news: Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued the order after finding that Bolsonaro had failed to comply with court-imposed “preventative measures” that restricted the former president’s social media use and banned him from political messaging.
- The judge accused Bolsonaro of using allies including his political sons to spread messages that contained “clear encouragement and incitement to attack the Supreme Federal Court, and overt support for foreign intervention in Brazil’s judiciary.”
- Moraes said one of the violations concerned a moment at a Rio de Janeiro rally Sunday when one of the 70-year-old populist leader’s sons, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, put his father on speakerphone.
- The senator is accused of posting a video to social media of his father addressing his supporters over the phone.
Context: The earlier order that included a requirement for Bolsonaro to wear an ankle bracelet was imposed after Moraes accused him of encouraging Trump to interfere in the case, which the U.S. president has described as a “witch hunt” against his ally.
- Bolsonaro is accused of being involved in an attempted coup over the 2022 election which saw his supporters storm the presidential palace and other government buildings on Jan. 8, 2023.
- He never formally conceded his election loss to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.