U.S. revokes visa of Brazilian judge overseeing Bolsonaro’s prosecution
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
RIO DE JANEIRO — Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Friday evening that the United States has revoked the visa of a Brazilian judge overseeing the prosecution of former president Jair Bolsonaro, echoing President Donald Trump’s allegations that his hard-right political ally was the victim of a “political witch hunt.”
The announcement came hours after the judge, Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, accused Bolsonaro of conspiring with his son to incite U.S. hostilities against Brazil, ordering the conservative politician to wear an ankle bracelet and barring him from contacts with foreign governments.
The nations are increasingly at odds over Brazil’s prosecution of Bolsonaro, who has been accused of plotting to violently retain power after his 2022 electoral loss. They also differ over the right to freedom of speech, particularly when the reach of social media transcends national boundaries.
Moraes is the catalyst in both disagreements. He will be on the judicial panel slated to preside over the trial of Bolsonaro, who is facing decades in prison. He is also leading an aggressive investigation into online misinformation and has ordered the takedown of at least 120 social media accounts that he has accused of violating Brazilian laws that govern freedom of speech. The actions have brought him into increasingly rancorous conflict with U.S. social media companies and with Trump and his supporters.
It remains unclear how Friday evening’s action will impact Moraes, a Brazilian jurist who isn’t known for traveling often to the United States. The full scope of the order — or who it will be used against — was also left uncertain. In addition to Moraes, Rubio said, the U.S. has also revoked the visas of “his allies on the court, as well as their immediate family members.”
What seemed clear, however, was that the diplomatic feud between the U.S. and Brazil is not heading toward a quick détente, as both nations dig in further.
The dispute erupted on July 9, when Trump announced a 50 percent tariff on Brazil, citing Bolsonaro’s prosecution and what he said was the Brazilian Supreme Court’s unlawful suppression of free speech. On Thursday evening, he posted to Truth Social a copy of a letter to Bolsonaro, long among his closest allies on the global far right, lamenting his “terrible treatment … at the hands of an unjust system” and demanding that his trial “end immediately.”
“I will be watching,” Trump said.
Hour later, Moraes ratcheted up the pressure on Bolsonaro. The judge also took aim at Bolsonaro’s son, Eduardo, a 41-year-old congressman whom he accused of working with his father to encourage hostilities from a foreign nation and destabilize his own country.
Jair and Eduardo Bolsonaro were “willfully and consciously acting with illicit intent … with the hope of trying to submit the functioning of the Federal Supreme Court to the scrutiny of a foreign state,” Moraes wrote in his order. Their “clear goal,” he added, was to “coerce the court.”
In addition to the ankle bracelet, Moraes ordered that Bolsonaro be under house arrest outside of daylight hours and barred him from approaching foreign embassies and consulates, using social media, and contacting any other person being investigated by the Supreme Court — including his son, Eduardo.
In a statement, Jair Bolsonaro’s defense team said it was “surprised and indignant” over what it described as “severe” restrictions.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, in a statement posted to social media, said he wasn’t surprised. “We have for a long time been denouncing the actions of dictator Alexandre de Moraes,” he said, accusing the justice of using the Supreme Court “as a personal weapon for political persecution.”
In a speech Thursday night , Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — who has vowed not to give in to Trump’s threats — used his strongest language yet to condemn Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters, whom he accused of siding with the American president.
For weeks, Eduardo Bolsonaro has gone in and out of the White House to meet with Trump officials and encourage sanctions against Moraes, four people familiar with the situation told The Washington Post this week . Two of those familiar said they had seen a copy of a sanctions order against Moraes within the past month, speaking on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive details.
Often at Eduardo Bolsonaro’s side has been Paulo Figueiredo, a right-wing Brazilian influencer who has also been charged with taking part in the alleged coup plot in 2022.
Asked whether it was planning sanctions against Moraes, the White House sent a transcript of remarks from Rubio during a congressional hearing in May. “That is under review right now, and it’s a great, great possibility that will happen,” Rubio said when asked whether officials were considering sanctioning Moraes under the Magnitsky Act.
Legal experts expressed surprise at the possible use of the Magnitsky Act , named for a slain Russian dissident, which has traditionally been used to impose sanctions on officials accused of “gross” human rights violations.
While Eduardo Bolsonaro pressed Washington for action, Brazilian authorities allege that he has received both counsel and financial support from his father. The former president has openly discussed the money he has sent his son during his time in the U.S., which he has said has topped $350,000.
“The investigation has confirmed the participation of JAIR MESSIAS BOLSONARO in the criminal conduct,” Moraes wrote in his order, accusing the former president of aiding a “negotiation with a foreign government so that it can practice hostile actions against Brazil.”
In April, during an interview with The Post , Jair Bolsonaro said he would have preferred that his son had stayed in Brazil but understood he was trying to help.
“I have a lot of gratitude toward Trump for the way he treats my son Eduardo,” Bolsonaro said inside his Liberal Party headquarters in Brasília. He also mentioned the Magnitsky Act, which he said was “being studied right now in the United States to apply it against Alexandre de Moraes.”
One adviser to the White House and Jair Bolsonaro, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations, said he wasn’t sure how much Jair knew of his son’s actions in the United States. Eduardo Bolsonaro increasingly appeared to be acting unilaterally, he said, and he suggested there were “disagreements” within the family.
“Eduardo is doing his own thing,” the adviser said. “He’s not listening to anyone.”
In his statement Thursday, Eduardo Bolsonaro said he had no intention of backing down.
“We won’t stop,” he wrote. “Silencing my father will not quiet Brazil.”
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Mario may want to keep an eye on Bondi's ass and jot down notes as hers is edged toward the W.H. exit chute.
So, they revoked the right to travel here of somebody who...doesn't travel here.
Ok.
Pisspour Kabuki served up with pissladen Kambucha.
Bag licker Marco strikes again.
C'mon!
This is just one (would-be) dictator protecting another. Nothing surprising.
And... of course... all US Federal Government agencies are sworn to obey our mad-king...
Yet another example (as if we need one) of Trump using his powers for personal whims.
The electorate has armed an irresponsible 5th grader.
Trump is threatening to close the Elementary School down, cause who better to run the schools for our youth, than billionaire pedophiles', who shield US from the TRUTH, that obviously only an irresponsible 5thgrader, can decide, is real for US