BRASÍLIA (Realist English). Brazil’s Supreme Court has placed former president Jair Bolsonaro under house arrest, escalating legal pressure on the far-right leader and further straining relations with the United States, where President Donald Trump has publicly demanded an end to the criminal proceedings.
The court ruling, issued Monday night by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, cited Bolsonaro’s violation of a social media ban imposed in July. The ex-president had addressed supporters at a Sunday rally in Rio de Janeiro through a phone call broadcast on Instagram via his son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro — a move prosecutors said breached existing restrictions.
Bolsonaro, who had already been subjected to a curfew and electronic monitoring, now faces strict isolation, with only lawyers and close family members allowed to visit. Authorities also ordered the seizure of his mobile devices.
The former army officer is on trial for allegedly plotting a coup d’état after losing the 2022 presidential election to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Federal prosecutors claim Bolsonaro and his inner circle — including military officials — conspired to unlawfully stay in power, and reportedly even discussed the assassination of Lula and Justice de Moraes. Bolsonaro has denied all charges.
The court’s decision comes days after Trump, calling the case a “political witch-hunt,” announced a 50% import tariff on Brazilian goods — one of the highest in his recent wave of protectionist measures. The Trump administration has framed the charges as politically motivated and cited Brazilian judicial pressure on U.S. tech platforms as further grounds for economic retaliation.
The trade penalty, which takes effect August 6, comes despite the fact that the U.S. runs a trade surplus with Brazil. In response, President Lula called Trump’s interference “unacceptable” and vowed to strengthen ties with BRICS in defiance of U.S. pressure.
Justice de Moraes, long targeted by Brazil’s right-wing movement, was recently hit with U.S. sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act, accused of using state institutions to suppress dissent. On Monday night, the U.S. State Department condemned Bolsonaro’s arrest and vowed to “hold accountable all those aiding and abetting sanctioned conduct.”
“This is an arrest without a crime, without evidence, without a trial,” wrote Eduardo Bolsonaro, a sitting congressman now based in the U.S., who has lobbied for sanctions against Brazilian justices. Last month, the Trump administration revoked the visas of several Supreme Court judges, including de Moraes and their families.
The confrontation underscores an escalating ideological and geopolitical divide between the U.S. and Brazil — two of the Western Hemisphere’s largest democracies — as Trump asserts influence abroad and Lula resists what he calls judicial intimidation by foreign powers.
