BRASÍLIA, Brazil — Brazil’s Supreme Court has ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to be placed under house arrest, escalating a high-stakes investigation into his alleged role in a failed coup attempt.
The decision, issued by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, cited violations of previous court restrictions and what the judge called “deliberate defiance” of judicial authority.
Bolsonaro, 69, who governed Brazil from 2019 to 2022, is facing charges that he orchestrated or supported efforts to overturn the country’s democratic order — allegations he has vehemently denied.
His legal team told Reuters they intend to appeal the ruling, insisting their client did not violate any restraining orders.
Justice Moraes said the former president had misused social media networks, including those of his sons and political allies, to circulate messages that encouraged attacks on the judiciary and sought foreign intervention in Brazil’s legal processes.
The house arrest comes after Bolsonaro appeared to flout a prior ban on public communications related to the case.
At a rally in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, August 3, 2025, Bolsonaro’s son, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, placed him on speakerphone before a crowd of supporters.
A video of the moment, later deleted from the senator’s Instagram, was cited in the court’s decision as further evidence of non-compliance.
“The flagrant disregard for the preventative measures was so obvious that — it bears repeating — the defendant’s own son… deleted the post… to conceal the legal transgression,” Moraes wrote.
The judge also barred the former president from receiving visits, except from lawyers or court-approved individuals, and from using any mobile phones, directly or via intermediaries.
“Justice is blind, but it is not foolish,” Moraes stated in a sharply worded ruling.
“The court will not allow a defendant to make a fool of it, thinking that he will go unpunished because he has political and economic power.”
The fallout has reached beyond Brazil’s borders.
U.S. President Donald Trump, a close political ally of Bolsonaro, called the investigation a “witch hunt” and used it to justify new tariffs on some Brazilian goods — a move that has raised eyebrows given the U.S.’s current trade surplus with Brazil.
In a statement on social media last month, Trump praised Bolsonaro as a “strong leader” who “truly loved his country” and declared that “he was not guilty of anything.”
The U.S. State Department, however, took a different tone.
In a post on X, it said it “condemns” the Brazilian court’s order and pledged to “hold accountable all those aiding and abetting sanctioned conduct” — a statement interpreted as targeting Justice Moraes, who has previously been sanctioned by the U.S. government.
Bolsonaro’s presidency was marked by populist rhetoric, hostility toward the judiciary, and a close alliance with Trump-era U.S. policies.
Since leaving office in 2022, he has remained a polarising figure in Brazilian politics, drawing both fierce loyalty from his base and growing scrutiny from prosecutors and legal authorities.
The ongoing trial has energised Bolsonaro’s supporters, with pro-Bolsonaro rallies held in multiple cities over the weekend.
