Brazil’s Supreme Court Declines To Arrest Bolsonaro For Violating Social Media Ban

Authored by Victoria Friedman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Brazil’s Supreme Court decided on Thursday not to order the arrest of former President Jair Bolsonaro for violating court-imposed restrictions, though the judge said he could be detained for any future violations.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case in which Bolsonaro is charged with plotting a coup, imposed restrictions on the former president on July 18. The restrictions included an ankle monitor, a ban on social media use, and no contact with foreign embassies.

On Monday, the judge threatened to arrest the conservative politician for breaching the orders on social media use—which includes use through third parties—when Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo posted a video of his father delivering a speech and showing his electronic ankle monitor.

Moraes wrote in his decision that there was no doubt the order had not been followed, but said the isolated breach did not warrant a detention order.

The justice kept in place the restraining orders on social media use and clarified that Bolsonaro is not forbidden from giving interviews.

Bolsonaro, 70, told reporters on Thursday outside the Liberal Party headquarters in Brasília that his lawyers were reviewing the decision and would advise him on Friday about what he is allowed to say under the ruling.

U.S. President Donald Trump has denounced the trial as being politically driven.

In a July 7 post on Truth Social, Trump said: “Brazil is doing a terrible thing on their treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro. … I’ll be watching the WITCH HUNT of Jair Bolsonaro, his family, and thousands of his supporters, very closely.”

Two days later, the U.S. president threatened Brazil with 50 percent import tariffs, citing non-tariff trade barriers and Bolsonaro’s treatment.

In a letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, posted on Truth Social on July 9, Trump said the trial had turned Brazil into “an international disgrace,” and urged that it be halted immediately.

“Due in part to Brazil’s insidious attacks on Free Elections, and the fundamental Free Speech Rights of Americans … starting on August 1, 2025, we will charge Brazil a Tariff of 50 percent on any and all Brazilian products sent into the United States,” Trump wrote.

In response, Lula said Brazil was “a sovereign nation with independent institutions and will not accept any form of tutelage.” He warned that Brazil may respond with retaliatory tariffs.

Alleged Coup Attempt

Bolsonaro was president between 2019 and 2022 and is a former army officer who served in the military between 1973 and 1988.

He is on trial for allegedly plotting a coup, accused of trying to overturn the results of the October 30, 2022, election, which he narrowly lost to Lula.

On Jan. 8, 2023, hundreds of Bolsonaro supporters breached security at Brazil’s Supreme Court, Congress, and the presidential palace during a protest, chanting about alleged election fraud and calling for the military to “save Brazil.”

Bolsonaro was in the United States at the time and returned to Brazil in March 2023.

In February 2025, Brazil’s prosecutor general charged Bolsonaro over his alleged involvement in an attempted coup, following a two-year investigation. The trial began in May. If convicted, Bolsonaro could face up to 12 years in prison.

On July 15, Brazilian Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet said in a report to the Supreme Court that the “evidence is clear: the defendant acted systematically, throughout his mandate and after his defeat at the polls, to incite insurrection and the destabilization of the democratic rule of law.”

The former president has denied any wrongdoing.

Bolsonaro stated in a July 14 post on X that he had “never acted against democracy or the Constitution.”

“We are witnessing a true witch hunt, an open and blatant persecution against me and the millions of Brazilians I represent and give voice to,” he wrote.

Chris Summers and Reuters contributed to this report.