Brazil: House Arrest for Former President Jair Bolsonaro

for ‘disobeying’ the Brazilian Justice System

By EFE (La Estrella de Panamá)

HAVANA TIMES – Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes made the decision due to the “repeated violation of precautionary measures.” The judge also prohibited him from receiving visitors and using a cellphone.

Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to be placed under house arrest on Monday, August 4, for violating precautionary restrictions previously imposed due to the risk of flight, as he stands trial for attempted coup-related charges.

Alexandre de Moraes, the judge overseeing the case against the far-right leader in the Supreme Federal Court, ordered house arrest for Bolsonaro. He also prohibited the former president from receiving visitors at his residence, except for close family members and his lawyers.

In his ruling, De Moraes also ordered the Federal Police to search Bolsonaro’s residence to seize mobile phones and other devices that could allow him to access social media.

The Federal Police confirmed in a statement that it carried out the court’s orders Monday afternoon, enforcing the house arrest and confiscating Bolsonaro’s cellphones.

The magistrate argued that Bolsonaro had violated the precautionary measures imposed last month, which banned him from sending messages via his own or third-party social media accounts, required him to wear an electronic ankle monitor, and mandated that he remain at home during nights and weekends.

De Moraes cited Bolsonaro’s messages that were broadcast on Sunday through the social media accounts of his allies, including those of his three lawmaker sons, which contained “incentives and instigations to attack the Supreme Court and support for foreign intervention in Brazil’s judiciary.”

These messages were read aloud during Sunday demonstrations by thousands of Bolsonaro supporters in several cities across the country. Protesters called for an amnesty for all those accused of coup-related crimes and expressed support for US President Donald Trump’s sanctions against those prosecuting Bolsonaro.

In addition to imposing a 50% tariff on certain Brazilian imports—a lifting which is conditioned on the cessation of legal proceedings against Bolsonaro— the Trump administration also revoked the visas of eight of the eleven Brazilian Supreme Court justices and ordered the freezing of Alexandre de Moraes’s assets.

“There is no doubt that Jair Bolsonaro violated the precautionary measure imposed on him,” said the judge, who added that “it is necessary to adopt more severe measures to prevent the continued criminal behavior of the defendant.”

The house arrest was ordered in connection with the case accusing Bolsonaro of leading a conspiracy to prevent the inauguration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who defeated him in the 2022 presidential election.

According to the prosecution, Bolsonaro not only discussed with ministers and top military officials measures to annul the election results and even assassinate Lula, but also encouraged the January 8, 2023, storming of the presidential palace, Congress, and the Supreme Court by thousands of his supporters.

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