Brazil's Supreme Court orders house arrest for former president Jair Bolsonaro
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the case against Bolsonaro before the top court, said in his decision that the 70-year-old former president had violated precautionary measures imposed on him by posting content on the social media channels of his three lawmaker sons.
On Sunday, Bolsonaro addressed supporters in Rio de Janeiro through the phone of one of his sons, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro.
The trial of the far-right leader is receiving renewed attention after US President
Donald Trump directly tied a 50 per cent tariff on imported Brazilian goods to the judicial situation of Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally.
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.
Following news of the arrest order, a member of Brazil's federal police told Associated Press that federal agents were currently at Bolsonaro's residence in the capital of Brasília to seize mobile phones, as ordered by de Moraes in his decision.
The source spoke on condition of anonymity due to their lack of authorisation to speak about the matter publicly.
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