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Bolsonaro, who is about to stand trial over an alleged coup attempt, was banned from using social media and will now face an evening curfew, according to the Supreme Court order issued on Friday. The former president is also prohibited from communicating with foreign diplomats and getting close to embassies.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who authored the decision, cited obstruction of justice and a flight risk as motives for the measures.
Bolsonaro's legal team said in a statement that it received word of the measures 'with surprise and indignation,' adding that the former president 'has always complied with all rulings issued by the judiciary.'
The early morning raid is the latest escalation in a high-stakes standoff between the governments of the Western hemisphere's most populous nations. Last week, Trump threatened President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva with a 50% levy on Brazilian goods due to the treatment of Bolsonaro and what the US head of state claims are unfair trade practices.
Brazil's currency, the real, gained 0.2% in late morning trading after initially falling as much as 0.4% on open. It erased losses after a member of Bolsonaro's family called on Trump to drop his tariff threat.
Brazil's Case
While Trump has fired off a flurry of tariff letters to leaders around the world in recent days, Brazil's case has been unique. Latin America's largest economy runs a trade deficit with the US, while almost all of Trump's other targets post large surpluses. Its 79-year-old president has shown no signs of heeding to American demands.
Lula, as the former union leader is universally known, has seized the moment to reinvigorate his progressive base after flagging in opinion polls. He has appeared on Brazil's airwaves almost daily, accusing his adversaries of seeking foreign intervention and vowing to defend national sovereignty.
'We don't want to fight, but we don't flee,' Lula said on Thursday while he visited the northeastern state of Bahia. 'Brazil only has one owner: the Brazilian people.'
Meanwhile, Trump's threats have created chaos for Brazilian conservatives as they seek to find an answer to the upheaval US levies will cause. Even Bolsonaro's closest confidants have begun to buckle as pressure mounts at home and abroad.
Following the Friday morning raid, Bolosonaro's son, Flavio Bolsonaro, a senator, made an appeal to Trump on social media to 'suspend the 50% tariff on Brazilian imports and impose individual sanctions.' The post was later deleted.
Deeply Personal
The clash with the US has become personal for Lula, who narrowly defeated Bolsonaro less than three years ago. Days after Lula's 2023 inauguration, Bolsonaro's supporters stormed the capital, Brasilia, and ransacked government buildings under the false belief the election had been stolen.
Bolsonaro, a former army captain and longtime Trump admirer, has denied involvement in the attacks. But he and his allies amplified baseless claims about the integrity of Brazil's voting system, which fueled the rage of rioters.
Out of government, the former head of state's legal woes have spiraled. He is currently facing multiple criminal cases, including accusations that he sold presidential gifts for personal gain and actively worked to discredit Brazil's voting system, which led authorities to confiscate his passport and ban him from holding public office.
The danger of jail time led his lawmaker son Eduardo Bolsonaro to step away from his congressional duties earlier this year and relocate to Washington DC, where he has lobbied the Trump administration to take action against Brazil's Supreme Court.
Brazil government opponents allege the court has tried to silence conservative voices and persecute the current president's foes, a claim that has gained traction among Trump's allies.
In a public letter to Bolsonaro on Thursday, Trump blasted the Brazilian government as a 'ridiculous censorship regime' and said the former head of state's trial, which is expected to begin later this year, 'should end immediately!'
Moraes has continued to work through Brazil's judicial recess in July. On Monday, the Prosecutor General's Office submitted its closing arguments, detailing the charges, listing the evidence, and requesting a conviction for the attempted coup. Now Bolsonaro's legal teams must present their final arguments on the case.
The Supreme Court has called an extraordinary session to review Moraes's decision beginning today and extending through Monday.
Cash
According to Moraes' move on Friday, the former president worked with Eduardo Bolsonaro to stop the functioning of the Supreme Court 'through hostile acts stemming from spurious and criminal negotiations, with clear obstruction of justice and the evident intent to coerce this court in its rulings.' Moraes banned Bolsonaro from communicating with his son in Washington.
Police found over $14,000 in cash in the former president's home in Brasilia and seized his smartphone, newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported.
It is not the first time that Bolsonaro has been suspected of trying to dodge authorities. Last year, a New York Times investigation reveled that the right-wing leader stayed at the Hungarian embassy in Brasilia for four days after handing his passport over to federal police.
Bolsonaro later confirmed his stay at the embassy but denied claims he was seeking refuge.
(Updates with Supreme Court decision, market reaction, context throughout.)
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