Court Order Bans Bolsonaro From Interviews, Social Media, Says Judge

Alexandre de Moraes, a judge on Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF), said the social media ban imposed on former President Jair Bolsonaro last week includes giving interviews and using social media directly or indirectly.

“The injunction prohibiting Bolsonaro from using social media, whether directly or through third parties, obviously includes the transmission, retransmission, or publication of audio, video, or transcripts of interviews on third-party social media platforms,” de Moraes told state-run news outlet Agência Brasil on July 21.

De Moraes’s statements referred to a series of videos widely circulated on social media since July 21 that show Bolsonaro showing the electronic anklet placed on him by federal police officers last week.

According to the judge, failure to comply with this ban could result in Bolsonaro being held in pretrial detention.

Bolsonaro’s lawyers responded on July 21 that the former president had not violated the injunction prohibiting the use of social media and sought clarification, Agência Brasil reported.

“While vehemently rejecting any violation, the appellant, to avoid any misunderstanding about the intended scope of the injunction imposed through these appeals, requests clarification of the decision, in order to specify the exact terms of the prohibition on the use of social media, and also clarify whether this prohibition entails granting interviews,” the defense said.

On July 17, the STF ordered Bolsonaro to be placed under house arrest from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily, including holidays and weekends, and for electronic surveillance “to prevent his escape.” It also banned him from using social media and from accessing foreign embassies over his alleged actions that are “attacking national sovereignty,” including allegedly urging the United States government to interfere in Brazilian affairs.

On July 18, federal police officers took Bolsonaro to the Federal Police headquarters in Brasília, where they fitted him with an electronic ankle bracelet and imposed precautionary measures.

Federal Police officers also executed two search and seizure warrants at the home of the former Brazilian president and his son, Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, for alleged “coercion in the course of proceedings (Article 344 of the Penal Code) and obstruction of the investigation of a crime involving a criminal organization.”

Former President Bolsonaro and seven of his associates were charged on July 14 before the STF by Brazilian Attorney General Paulo Gonet Branco with committing “acts contrary to the democratic rule of law” for an alleged coup attempt in 2023, following the victory of current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Jair Bolsonaro has denied the accusations, saying the facts prove otherwise and calling the lawsuit political persecution.

“All the accusations are false. I have never attacked democracy or the Constitution. (…) We are experiencing a true WITCH HUNT, a blatant persecution against me and the millions of Brazilians I represent and to whom I give voice,” Bolsonaro said in a post on his X account on July 14.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Judge de Moraes’ actions against the former Brazilian president “a political witch hunt” on July 18 and ordered the revocation of the U.S. visas of the judge and his allies on the court, as well as their immediate family members, effective immediately.