Brazil: Bolsonaro Threatened with Imprisonment After Social Media Posts

A Brazilian Supreme Court judge threatened Jair Bolsonaro with "immediate imprisonment" on Monday after the former president's statements were posted online, allegedly in violation of a ban on social media. The former far-right leader (2019-2022), on trial for an attempted coup against the current left-wing president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was ordered on Friday to wear an electronic bracelet and to refrain from using social media.

Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes justified these measures by accusing him of inciting, along with his son Eduardo, "hostile acts" by the United States against Brazil and of attempting to "obstruct" the trial, which he is in charge of.

Messages posted on other accounts

In response, the former president, who received support from Donald Trump , made statements to the media on Monday, which were quickly circulated on social media, prompting the judicial warning.

In a court document, Alexandre de Moraes presented posts from X, Instagram and Facebook accounts with videos, images and the text of Jair Bolsonaro's statements to reporters in Congress.

The former president did not publish the speech on his own account, but his sons and political allies did. The magistrate thus criticized Jair Bolsonaro, 70, for "delivering a speech intended to be broadcast on digital platforms."

Alexandre de Moraes also asked the former president's lawyers to provide clarification within 24 hours "on the failure to comply with the imposed precautionary measures, under penalty of decreeing his immediate imprisonment."

An act of "cowardice"

In an earlier ruling on Monday, the Supreme Court judge warned that any broadcast of Jair Bolsonaro's public statements on the platforms would constitute a violation of the measures in force and that the former president risked arrest. However, the leader of Brazil's right and far right appeared before the cameras to denounce what he considers an act of "cowardice" against him.

"It is the symbol of ultimate humiliation," he said, showing for the first time the electronic bracelet he is forced to wear on his left ankle. "What is valid for me is God's law," he added in statements that quickly circulated on social media.

The Supreme Court upheld the restrictions imposed on the former president by Judge Moraes on Monday, by a vote of four to one, during an online hearing that ended shortly before midnight. At a press conference, Bolsonarista lawmaker Sostenes Cavalcante denounced Monday's warning as "censorship" of the judiciary.

Ineligible until 2030

Judicial pressure is mounting on Jair Bolsonaro amid a diplomatic crisis between Brazil and the United States. Denouncing a "witch hunt" against his ally, US President Donald Trump threatened Brazil with additional customs duties of 50% starting in August. Lula condemned this "unacceptable blackmail."

Jair Bolsonaro considers his trial "persecution" and faces more than 40 years in prison. The prosecution has called for his conviction and that of seven of his former collaborators for attempting to ensure their "authoritarian maintenance in power."

Jair Bolsonaro is also ineligible until 2030 for misinformation about the electronic voting system used for the 2022 election. Advocating for a broad amnesty, he hopes to have his ineligibility to run in the 2026 presidential election overturned.