Brazil’s Supreme Court orders house arrest for former President
Bolsonaro, a Trump ally
[August 05, 2025]
By MAURICIO SAVARESE
SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s Supreme Court on Monday ordered the house
arrest for former President Jair Bolsonaro, on trial for allegedly
masterminding a coup plot to remain in office despite his defeat in the
2022 election — a case that has gripped the South American country as it
faces a trade war with the Trump administration.
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
spreading content through his three lawmaker sons.
Bolsonaro's lawyers said in a statement that he will appeal the
decision. They said his words “good afternoon, Copacabana, good
afternoon my Brazil, a hug to everyone, this is for our freedom" —
broadcast from a cell phone of one of his sons during a Sunday protest
in Rio de Janeiro — cannot “be regarded as ignoring precautionary
measures or as a criminal act.”
The trial of the far-right leader is receiving renewed attention after
U.S. President Donald Trump directly tied a 50% tariff on imported
Brazilian goods to his ally’s judicial situation. 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.
Hours after the decision, the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Western
Hemisphere Affairs said on X that the Trump administration “condemns
(de) Moraes’ order imposing house arrest on Bolsonaro and will hold
accountable all those aiding and abetting sanctioned conduct.”
“Putting even more restrictions on Jair Bolsonaro’s ability to defend
himself in public is not a public service. Let Bolsonaro speak!” the
U.S. State Department body said.
Brazil's government has not commented on the case.

The case against Bolsonaro
Brazil’s prosecutors accuse Bolsonaro of heading a criminal organization
that plotted to overturn the election, including plans to kill Lula and
Justice de Moraes after the far-right leader narrowly lost his
reelection bid in 2022.
Monday’s order followed one from the top court last month that ordered
Bolsonaro to wear an electronic ankle monitor and imposed a curfew on
his activities while the proceedings are underway.
Following news of the arrest order, a staffer with Brazil’s federal
police told The Associated Press that federal agents had seized cell
phones at Bolsonaro’s residence in the capital of Brasilia, as ordered
by de Moraes in his decision. The staffer spoke on condition of
anonymity due to their lack of authorization to speak about the matter
publicly.
Bolsonaro is expected to remain in Brasilia for his house arrest as he
is not allowed to travel. He also has a house in Rio de Janeiro, where
he held his electoral base as a lawmaker for three decades. The former
army captain is the fourth former president of Brazil to be arrested
since the end of the country's military rule from 1964 to 1985, which
Bolsonaro supported.
‘Flagrant disrespect’
The move from the Brazilian justice comes a day after tens of thousands
of Bolsonaro supporters took the streets in the cities of Sao Paulo and
Rio, pleading for Brazil’s congress to pardon him and hundreds of others
who are either under trial or jailed for their roles in the destruction
of government buildings in Brasilia on Jan. 8, 2023.
On Sunday, Bolsonaro addressed supporters in Rio through the phone of
one of his sons, which de Moraes' described as illegal.
“The flagrant disrespect to the precautionary measures was so obvious
that the defendant's son, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, decided to remove the
posting in his Instagram profile, with the objective of hiding the legal
transgression,” de Moraes wrote.
Flávio Bolsonaro claimed on X that Brazil “is officially in a
dictatorship” after his father’s house arrest. “The persecution of de
Moraes against Bolsonaro has no limits!” the senator wrote.

[to top of second column]
|

People take part in a demonstration to protest Brazil's former
President Jair Bolsonaro's Supreme Court trial where he faces
charges for alleged involvement in a 2022 coup attempt, at
Copacabana Beach, in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025. (AP
Photo/Bruna Prado)

De Moraes added in his ruling that Jair Bolsonaro, who governed
Brazil between 2019 and 2022, has spread messages with “a clear
content of encouragement and instigation to attacks against the
Supreme Court and a blatant support for foreign intervention in the
Brazilian Judiciary” — likely a veiled reference to Trump's support
for Bolsonaro.
De Moraes also said that Bolsonaro “addressed protesters gathered in
Copacabana, in Rio” on Sunday so his supporters could “try to coerce
the Supreme Court.”
Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on de
Moraes over alleged suppression of freedom of expression regarding
Bolsonaro's trial. On Monday, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere
Affairs called the Brazilian justice “a U.S.-sanctioned human rights
abuser” and accused him of using "institutions to silence opposition
and threaten democracy."
De Moraes said in his decision that “(Brazil's) judiciary will not
allow a defendant to make a fool out of it."
"Justice is the same for all. A defendant who willingly ignores
precautionary measures — for the second time — must suffer legal
consequences,” he said.
Possible trouble ahead
Creomar de Souza, a political analyst of Dharma Political Risk and
Strategy, a political consultancy firm based in Brasilia, said
Bolsonaro's house arrest opens a new moment for the country's
opposition, which will could gather steam in fighting against Lula's
reelection bid next year.
Now, de Souza said, “the 2026 election looks like turmoil” and the
political debate in Brazil will likely be split between two key
struggles.
“One is the effort of Bolsonaro supporters to keep strong on the
right, no matter if it is pushing for amnesty in congress or putting
themselves physically out there,” the analyst said. “The second is
how the Lula administration will try to show that the country has a
government.”
“This is just the start,” he concluded.
The latest decision from the top court keeps Bolsonaro under ankle
monitoring, allows only family members and lawyers to visit him and
seizes all mobile phones from his home.

Lula was imprisoned for 580 days between 2018 and 2019 in a
corruption conviction that was later tossed out by the Supreme
Court, citing the bias of the judge in the case.
Michel Temer, who became president after Dilma Rousseff was
impeached in 2016, was arrested for 10 days in 2019 in connection
with a graft investigation, which later ended without a conviction.
Earlier this year, de Moraes ordered the detention of President
Fernando Collor, who was in office from 1990 to 1992 until he was
impeached. The 75-year-old former president was convicted for money
laundering and corruption in 2023 and is now serving his more than
eight-year sentence.
Hours after the order, right-wing lawmakers criticized de Moraes’
decision and compared Bolsonaro's situation to that of his
predecessors.
“House arrest for Jair Bolsonaro by de Moraes. Reason: corruption?”
asked lawmaker Nikolas Ferreira. “No. His kids posted his content on
social media. Pathetic.”
The far-right leader is already barred from next year's election due
to an abuse of power conviction by the country’s top electoral
court.
Leftist lawmaker Duda Salabert said Bolsonaro's house arrest boosts
Brazil's democracy.
“And those who attacked it are about to pay,” Salabert said.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |