Brazil: despite pressure from the Trump Administration, Judge Alexandre de Moraes orders house arrest for former President Jair Bolsonaro

Brazil's Supreme Court on Monday ordered the house arrest of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, accused of leading a conspiracy to reverse his 2022 election defeat to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The judge Alexandre De Moraes, who is overseeing the case, justified the measure by Bolsonaro's failure to comply with previous judicial restrictions imposed last month, which included the use of an electronic anklet and a ban on using social networks and on contacting people under investigation, such as his son Eduardo Bolsonaro.

In addition, De Moraes prohibited Bolsonaro from receiving visitors, except from lawyers or authorized persons, and from using cell phones directly or through third parties.

Bolsonaro, who governed Brazil between 2019 and 2022, faces charges for five alleged crimes, including attempted coup d'état, violent abolition of the democratic state, membership in an armed criminal organization, and qualified damage and impairment of patrimony, with a possible penalty of up to 40 years in prison.

The house arrest order comes despite pressure from the Trump Administration, which has called the charge against Bolsonaro a "witch hunt."

In that vein, the US Treasury Department heavily sanctioned Judge De Moraes under the Global Magnitsky Act, accusing him of “an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights, and politicized prosecutions.”

The sanctions, which block De Moraes' assets in the U.S. and prohibit transactions with U.S. citizens, are in addition to the revocation of his visa and those of his family members.

Along these lines, the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, stated that De Moraes "is responsible for an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights, and politicized prosecutions—including against former President Jair Bolsonaro”.