A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has placed former president Jair Bolsonaro under house arrest, accusing him of violating a court-ordered social media ban during his ongoing trial for allegedly plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election.
The dramatic move escalates tensions between the country’s judiciary and the embattled right-wing politician, who is accused of conspiring with allies to remain in power after his defeat to current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the trial, said Bolsonaro had shown a “repeated failure” to obey court orders. The former army captain is prohibited from using social media and from having third parties share his public remarks during the proceedings.
However, on Sunday, Bolsonaro’s supporters circulated online footage of a video call between him and his son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, made during a pro-Bolsonaro rally in Rio de Janeiro. The act was deemed a direct violation of the court’s restrictions.
Reacting to the incident, Moraes said the court “would not allow a defendant to treat it like a fool” due to “political and economic power.” As a result, Bolsonaro was placed under house arrest at his residence in Brasília, barred from receiving visitors except his lawyers, and prohibited from using mobile phones. Authorities also confirmed that multiple phones were seized from his home.
Bolsonaro, 70, who served as Brazil’s president from 2019 to 2022, had already been ordered last month to wear an electronic ankle monitor and abide by a nighttime and weekend curfew as part of the pre-trial conditions.
The United States swiftly condemned the new restrictions. The State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs wrote on X: “Minister Alexandre de Moraes, already sanctioned by the United States for human rights violations, continues to use Brazilian institutions to silence the opposition and threaten democracy. Let Bolsonaro speak!”
The post was amplified by Bolsonaro’s son, Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, who has lobbied Washington to take punitive measures against Brazil’s judiciary. “Brazil is no longer a democracy,” he wrote, calling Moraes an “out-of-control psychopath.”
The U.S. under President Donald Trump, who returned to power in 2024, has already imposed personal sanctions on Moraes, banning him from entering the country and freezing his U.S. assets. Moraes has styled himself as a defender of Brazilian democracy amid growing concerns about the far-right’s influence.
Bolsonaro’s legal troubles stem from an alleged plot, hatched with seven co-defendants, to overturn the 2022 election results. Prosecutors claim the conspiracy only failed because the military refused to participate. If convicted, Bolsonaro could face up to 40 years in prison. The trial is expected to conclude in the coming weeks.
Following Lula’s inauguration in January 2023, Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brazil’s Congress, attacking police and vandalizing the chambers, events that drew comparisons to the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot by Trump’s supporters.
Despite being banned from seeking office, Bolsonaro is aiming for a Trump-style political comeback in Brazil’s 2026 election. His conservative base remains loyal, with weekend rallies in Rio, São Paulo, and Brasília featuring U.S. flags and signs reading “Thank you Trump.”
President Lula, 79, has suggested he may seek re-election in 2026, health permitting. He was hospitalized last year after suffering a brain hemorrhage following a bathroom fall.
