Brazil's Supreme Court orders house arrest for ex-president Jair Bolsonaro
Bolsonaro on trial over allegations he led a coup attempt after losing 2022 election
Brazil's Supreme Court on Monday ordered the house arrest of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial for allegedly masterminding a coup plot to remain in office despite his defeat in the 2022 election — a case that has gripped the South American country as it faces a trade war with the Trump administration.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case against Bolsonaro before the top court, said in his decision that by spreading content online through his three lawmaker sons, the 70-year-old had violated precautionary measures courts had imposed on him.
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 on a social media account using a cellphone belonging to one of his sons during a Sunday protest in Rio de Janeiro — cannot be regarded "as ignoring precautionary measures or as a criminal act."
Bolsonaro's trial is receiving renewed attention after U.S. President Donald Trump directly tied a 50 per cent tariff on imported Brazilian goods to his ally's judicial situation. 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's order imposing house arrest on Bolsonaro and will hold accountable all those aiding and abetting sanctioned conduct."
"Putting even more restrictions on Jair Bolsonaro's ability to defend himself in public is not a public service. Let Bolsonaro speak!" the State Department body said.
Brazil's government has not commented on the case.
Pro-Bolsonaro rally held
Brazil's prosecutors accuse Bolsonaro of heading a criminal organization that plotted to overturn the election, including plans to kill both Lula and Justice de Moraes, after the far-right leader narrowly lost his re-election bid in 2022.
Monday's order followed one from the top court last month that mandated Bolsonaro wear an electronic ankle monitor and imposed a curfew on his activities while the proceedings are underway.
Bolsonaro, who governed Brazil between 2019 and 2022, is expected to remain in Brasilia for his house arrest as he is not allowed to travel. He also has a house in Rio de Janeiro, where he held his electoral base as a lawmaker for three decades.
The former army captain is the fourth former president of Brazil to be arrested since the end of the country's military rule from 1964 to 1985, which Bolsonaro supported.
The move from the Brazilian justice comes a day after tens of thousands of Bolsonaro supporters took to the streets in the cities of Sao Paulo and Rio, pleading for Brazil's congress to pardon him and hundreds of others who are either facing trial or have been jailed for their roles in the destruction of government buildings in Brasilia on Jan. 8, 2023.
On Sunday, Bolsonaro addressed supporters in Rio through a phone belonging to one of his sons, which de Moraes described as illegal.
"The flagrant disrespect to the precautionary measures was so obvious that the defendant's son, Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, decided to remove the posting in his Instagram profile, with the objective of hiding the legal transgression," de Moraes wrote.
'Justice is the same for all,' judge says
Lawyers for the former Brazilian president did not make comments after the decision. Flavio Bolsonaro claimed on X that Brazil "is officially in a dictatorship" after his father's house arrest.
"The persecution of de Moraes against Bolsonaro has no limits!" the senator wrote.
De Moraes added in his ruling that Jair Bolsonaro has spread messages with "a clear content of encouragement and instigation to attacks against the Supreme Court and a blatant support for foreign intervention in the Brazilian Judiciary" — likely a veiled reference to Trump's support for Bolsonaro.
De Moraes also said that Bolsonaro "addressed protesters gathered in Copacabana, in Rio" on Sunday so his supporters could "try to coerce the Supreme Court."
Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on de Moraes over alleged suppression of freedom of expression and the ongoing trial of Bolsonaro.
"Justice will not allow a defendant to make a fool out of it," de Moraes said in his decision. "Justice is the same for all. A defendant who willingly ignores precautionary measures — for the second time — must suffer legal consequences."
Next year's election 'looks like turmoil'
Creomar de Souza, a political analyst for Dharma Political Risk and Strategy, a political consultancy firm based in Brasilia, says Bolsonaro's house arrest opens a new moment for the country's opposition, which could gather steam in fighting against Lula's re-election bid next year.
Now, de Souza said, "the 2026 election looks like turmoil" and the political debate in Brazil will likely be split between two key struggles.
"One is the effort of Bolsonaro supporters to keep strong on the right, no matter if it is pushing for amnesty in congress or putting themselves physically out there," he said. "The second is how the Lula administration will try to show that the country has a government."
"This is just the start," he concluded.