A justice on Brazil’s Supreme Court has ordered the house arrest of former President Jair Bolsonaro, on trial for allegedly masterminding a coup plot to remain in office despite his defeat in the 2022 election.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the case against Bolsonaro before the top court, said in his decision that the 70-year-old former president had violated precautionary measures imposed on him by spreading content through his three lawmaker sons.
Bolsonaro’s lawyers said in a statement that he will appeal the decision. They said his words “good afternoon, Copacabana, good afternoon my Brazil, a hug to everyone, this is for our freedom” — broadcast from a cell phone of one of his sons during a Sunday protest in Rio de Janeiro — cannot “be regarded as ignoring precautionary measures or as a criminal act.”
The trial of the far-right leader is receiving renewed attention after President Donald Trump directly tied a 50% tariff on imported Brazilian goods to his ally’s judicial situation. Mr. Trump has called the proceedings a “witch hunt,” triggering nationalist reactions from leaders of all branches of power in Brazil, including President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Hours after the decision, the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said on X that the Trump administration “condemns (de) Moraes’ order imposing house arrest on Bolsonaro and will hold accountable all those aiding and abetting sanctioned conduct.”
Bolsonaro...