Brazil’s Bolsonaro under House Arrest for Defying Earlier Home Restrictions
Aug. 9—Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes Aug. 4 placed former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro under house arrest, charging him with having “deliberately” failed to comply with earlier home restrictions imposed on him July 18. His failure to comply “shows contempt for judicial decisions and compromises the effectiveness of the investigation and the credibility of the Judiciary itself,” said de Moraes, who has been investigating the former president for plotting to overthrow President Lula da Silva in late 2022 and early 2023.
Bolsonaro had brazenly defied earlier restrictions on his use of social media and, according to de Moraes, had used social media of his allies and sons to circulate public statements encouraging attacks on the Supreme Court and urging U.S. President Donald Trump’s to punish Brazil for prosecuting Bolsonaro. De Moraes warned Bolsonaro that if he defied the new terms of house arrest, the court would not hesitate to imprison him.
The U.S. State Department responded immediately to Bolsonaro’s house arrest, posting a message on X from the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, accusing de Moraes of using “Brazil’s institutions to silence opposition and threaten democracy. …Putting even more restrictions on Jair Bolsonaro’s ability to defend himself in public is not a public service. Let Bolsonaro speak!” As reported by CNN, It added the threat, “The United States condemns Moraes’ order imposing house arrest on Bolsonaro and will hold accountable all those aiding and abetting sanctioned conduct.” According to State Department logic, Bolsonaro is “defending himself in public” when he calls on Donald Trump to escalate attacks on Brazilian sovereignty and undermine Brazil’s judicial institutions.
According to the daily Metropoles, the Trump administration is discussing further retaliatory measures to be taken against Brazil, including increasing tariffs above the 50% scheduled to be imposed Aug. 6, applying the Magnitsky sanction to additional members of the Supreme Court (beyond de Moraes), revoking visas of the Court’s auxiliary judges, Federal Police authorities, the Attorney General, and any politicians whose activities are in any way connected to the Supreme Court. Imposing sanctions on de Moraes’s wife, Viviane Barci de Moraes, is also under discussion