Brazil’s Supreme Court has mandated house arrest for former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro. He faces trial over allegations of plotting a coup, which he denies. President Donald Trump has criticized the trial as a “witch-hunt” and imposed 50% tariffs on certain Brazilian goods, despite the US having a trade surplus with Brazil. Judge Alexandre de Moraes, responsible for investigating Bolsonaro, cited non-compliance with previous restraining orders as the reason for the house arrest. Moraes, who has been sanctioned by the US, accused Bolsonaro of using his allies’ social networks, including those of his sons, to encourage attacks on the Supreme Court and foreign intervention in Brazil’s judiciary. On Sunday, pro-Bolsonaro rallies took place in various Brazilian cities, with his son Flávio, a senator, briefly putting Bolsonaro on speakerphone to a crowd in Rio de Janeiro. Flávio also reportedly shared and later deleted a video of his father speaking to supporters. Moraes has prohibited Bolsonaro from receiving visitors, except for lawyers or Supreme Court-authorized individuals, and from using a mobile phone directly or indirectly. Previously, Bolsonaro was ordered to wear an ankle tag, adhere to a curfew, avoid social media, and not contact his son Eduardo Bolsonaro, who has lobbied US officials on his behalf. These measures resulted from allegations of encouraging Donald Trump to interfere in the case.
