Brazil: Supreme Court threatens Bolsonaro with arrest if he uses social networks

Brazil's Federal Supreme Court judge, Alexandre de Moraes, on Monday warned former president Jair Bolsonaro about the possibility of decreeing his "immediate imprisonment" for the "non-compliance" of a ban on demonstrating on social networks.

Judicial pressure is mounting on the former president, who faces trial in the highest court for presumed attempted coup of state against leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022.

Bolsonaro, obliged to wear an electronic anklet and to comply with other precautionary measures since last week due to an investigation for alleged obstruction of justice, made statements to the media this Monday, which were quickly replicated on networks, prompting the judicial warning.

Controversial judge Moraes showed posts from accounts on X, Instagram and Facebook with videos, images and text of the former president's speech to journalists in Congress, according to a judicial document collected by AFP.

The judge called on Bolsonaro's lawyers to provide clarifications within 24 hours "on the non-compliance with the precautionary measures imposed, under penalty of decreeing his immediate imprisonment."

In an earlier decision on Monday, Moraes warned that any dissemination of public interventions by the former president on the platforms would constitute a violation of the measures and the ex-president risked being arrested.

For his part, Bolsonaro denounced what he considers an act of "cowardice" against him.

The Supreme Court decided to maintain the restrictions that Moraes imposed on Bolsonaro, by four votes to one, in a virtual session that ended at almost midnight.

Bolsonaro displays electronic anklet

The Metropoles portal in Brasilia reported that the former Brazilian president had cancelled an interview he was to give via his social networks.

But Bolsonaro planted himself in front of the cameras to show for the first time the electronic anklet he wears on his left foot. "That here is a symbol of maximum humiliation," he said.

"What is valid for me is God's law," he added in rejection of the judicial decisions.

Bolsonaro did not post the speech on his own accounts, but his children and allies, and several media outlets, did.