Brazil's top court threatens Bolsonaro with arrest, demands explanation for order breach
FILE PHOTO: Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro attends an interview with Reuters in Brasilia, Brazil, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Mateus Bonomi/File Photo
SAO PAULO - Brazil's Supreme Court threatened to order former President Jair Bolsonaro's arrest unless his lawyers explain within 24 hours why he breached restrictions on his use of social media, a decision showed on Monday evening.
The order summoning Bolsonaro's lawyers was issued by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the case in which Bolsonaro is accused of plotting a coup.
Bolsonaro's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours.
Moraes had on Friday ordered Bolsonaro to wear an ankle bracelet and banned him from using social media, among other measures - which were later upheld by a court panel - over allegations he courted the interference of U.S. President Donald Trump, who tied steep new tariffs on Brazilian goods to what he called a "witch hunt" against Bolsonaro.
In an interview with Reuters on Friday, Bolsonaro described Moraes' decision to prohibit his social media use as "cowardice," and said he intended to continue engaging with the press to ensure his voice was heard.
On Monday, Moraes said Bolsonaro breached the Supreme Court order when speaking with journalists earlier in the day, following a meeting with allies in the Brazilian Congress.
The moment, which marked the first time Bolsonaro publicly showed his ankle bracelet, came hours after Moraes issued a clarification of Friday's ruling, which stated that Bolsonaro's use of social media included use through third parties.
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Moraes in his decision attached screenshots of several posts on social media, including on news outlets, that showed Bolsonaro "displaying the electronic monitoring device, delivering a speech to be displayed on digital platforms."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week called Moraes' court orders a "political witch hunt", responding on Friday with immediate visa revocations for "Moraes and his allies on the court, as well as their immediate family members."
The court's crackdown on Bolsonaro adds to evidence that Trump's tactics are backfiring in Brazil, compounding trouble for his ideological ally and rallying public support behind a defiant leftist government.
DEBATE OVER THE DECISION
Hours before summoning Bolsonaro's lawyers, Moraes had issued a ruling that raised questions about whether the right-wing leader was allowed to talk to journalists.
"Obviously, the broadcasting, re-broadcasting, or dissemination of audio, video, or transcripts of interviews on any third-party social media platform is prohibited," the judge said, in a clarification of Friday's ruling.
The measure sparked debate in Brazil regarding the ruling's range.
Bolsonaro on Monday canceled an interview with a news outlet that would have been broadcast live on social media.
"The prohibition is that he communicates on social media; it is not a prohibition against third parties speaking about him, whether to praise or criticize," said Ivar Hartmann, a law professor at Sao Paulo business school Insper.
He added that, in his view, interviews are permissible, provided they are not intended to circumvent the legal limitations, such as giving an interview to a supporter.
But Vera Chemim, a São Paulo-based constitutional lawyer, said she believed the former leader is on shaky ground, noting that interviews, while not explicitly mentioned in the court order, could still be used to justify Bolsonaro's arrest.
"Bolsonaro is now completely silenced," she said. "Any misstep could lead to a preventive arrest."
The Supreme Court declined to comment or elaborate on the specifics of that decision.
A spokesperson for Bolsonaro also declined to comment, but the former president has always denied any wrongdoing. REUTERS
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