Former President Bolsonaro Leads a Mass Rally Amid Ongoing Coup Trial in Brazil

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro led a massive motorcyclist rally on July 29 in Brasília, his first time participating in a mass event after the Federal Supreme Court imposed injunctions on him amid a trial in which he faces charges of an alleged coup d’état.

On July 29, Bolsonaro arrived around 3 p.m. at Granja do Torto, the official residence of the Brazilian presidency, which had been established as the meeting point for the annual Moto Week event.

Bolsonaro arrived accompanied by his wife, Michelle de Paula Bolsonaro, eldest son Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, and a group of lawmakers, who led the parade in their vehicles.

During the parade, some 340,000 motorcyclists rode along the Eixo Rodoviário Norte highway toward the Plano Piloto bus station, showing their support for the former president.

During the ride, Bolsonaro stopped in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral to greet his supporters and then left as the group of motorcyclists resumed their route.

Bolsonaro was charged on July 14 by the Attorney General’s Office, along with seven alleged collaborators, with committing “acts contrary to the democratic rule of law” for an alleged coup attempt following Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s victory in 2023.

The former president has denied the accusations, saying the facts prove otherwise and calling the lawsuit a form of persecution.

On July 17, the Supreme Federal Court (STF) ordered Bolsonaro to be placed under preventive detention and implemented electronic surveillance to prevent his escape. He was also banned from using social media and accessing foreign embassies for allegedly “attacking national sovereignty” and allegedly urging the U.S. government to interfere with the Brazilian government.

The day after these measures were taken, a group of federal police officers arrived at the former president’s home to take him to the federal police headquarters in Brasília, where they fitted him with an electronic ankle bracelet and imposed precautionary measures.

Following a series of widely circulated videos on social media on July 21 showing Bolsonaro surrounded by reporters while displaying the electronic ankle bracelet, STF Judge Alexandre de Moraes banned Bolsonaro from giving interviews, arguing that the social media ban imposed includes giving interviews or using social media directly or indirectly.

On July 30, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions against de Moraes for “using his office to authorize arbitrary pre-trial detentions and suppress freedom of expression.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “De Moraes is responsible for a repressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights, and politicized prosecutions, including against former President Jair Bolsonaro.”