The State Department on Friday revoked the visa of the top judge prosecuting former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for an alleged coup attempt.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, his court allies, and his immediate family members will face visa revocations, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who called legal challenges leveled against Bolsonaro part of a “persecution and censorship complex” targeting Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s political opponents.
President Donald Trump “made clear that his administration will hold accountable foreign nationals who are responsible for censorship of protected expression in the United States,” Rubio said in a statement.
“Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes’s political witch hunt against Jair Bolsonaro created a persecution and censorship complex so sweeping that it not only violates basic rights of Brazilians, but also extends beyond Brazil’s shores to target Americans,” he continued.
Bolsonaro, who ran against Lula da Silva in the 2022 election to become Brazilian president, is viewed by the Trump administration as a U.S. ally who is being unfairly targeted by his country’s corrupt political and judicial system. Brazil’s electoral authority certified a razor-thin win for Lula da Silva in that election, even as Bolsonaro has warned of voter fraud that could have changed the outcome of the election. Bolsonaro has been accused by Lula da Silva of encouraging a coup to upend the results, claims the Trump-backed candidate has denied.
This week, federal police raided Bolsonaro’s home at the direction of the Brazilian Supreme Court and attached an ankle monitor device to his body. The court also released restraining orders and search warrants against Bolsonaro, preventing him from getting in touch with foreign officials and blocking him from using social media.
De Moraes, the justice who is overseeing Bolsonaro’s coup case and was targeted by Rubio on Friday, is the same judge who banned Elon Musk’s X in Brazil last August.
De Moraes banned the social media platform due to Musk’s refusal to ban several dozen profiles deemed by Lula da Silva’s government to be spreading misinformation about the 2022 Brazilian Presidential election.
Musk characterized the justice’s request to censor social media profiles as an abuse of power and a violation of free speech. However, last October, the X owner appeared to comply with the government’s demands after being forced to pay a $5 million fine, allowing the platform to resume operations in Brazil.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LAUNCHES TRADE INVESTIGATION INTO BRAZIL AFTER ‘WITCH HUNT’ AGAINST BOLSONARO
Trump has sought to use tariff threats against Brazil to pressure Lula da Silva’s government into backing off against Bolsonaro.
In a proposal released earlier this month, Trump said he would impose 50% tariffs on Brazil starting Aug. 1, in part, because of his opposition to Bolsonaro’s criminal trial.
