Brazil Supreme Court orders house arrest for ex-President Bolsonaro

Brazil's Supreme Court on Monday (August 4) ordered house arrest for former President Jair Bolsonaro, on trial for allegedly masterminding a coup plot to remain in office despite his defeat in the 2022 election - a case that has gripped the South American country as it faces a trade war with the Trump administration.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the case against Bolsonaro before the top court, said in his decision that the 70-year-old former president had violated precautionary measures imposed on him by spreading content through his three lawmaker sons.

Bolsonaro's lawyers said in a statement that he will appeal the decision. They said his words "good afternoon, Copacabana, good afternoon my Brazil, a hug to everyone, this is for our freedom" - broadcast from a cell phone of one of his sons during a Sunday protest in Rio de Janeiro - cannot "be regarded as ignoring precautionary measures or as a criminal act".

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The trial of the far-right leader is receiving renewed attention after US President Donald Trump directly tied a 50-per cent tariff on imported Brazilian goods to his ally's judicial situation. Trump has called the proceedings a "witch hunt", triggering nationalist reactions from leaders of all branches of power in Brazil, including President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

US condemns house arrest

Hours after the decision, the US State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said on X that the Trump administration "condemns (de) Moraes' order imposing house arrest on Bolsonaro and will hold accountable all those aiding and abetting sanctioned conduct".

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"Putting even more restrictions on Jair Bolsonaro's ability to defend himself in public is not a public service. Let Bolsonaro speak!" the US State Department body said.

Brazil's government has not commented on the case.

The case against Bolsonaro

Brazil's prosecutors accuse Bolsonaro of heading a criminal organisation that plotted to overturn the election, including plans to kill Lula and Justice de Moraes after the far-right leader narrowly lost his reelection bid in 2022.

Monday's order followed one from the top court last month that ordered Bolsonaro to wear an electronic ankle monitor and imposed a curfew on his activities while the proceedings are underway.

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Following news of the arrest order, a staffer with Brazil's federal police told The Associated Press that federal agents had seized cell phones at Bolsonaro's residence in the capital of Brasilia, as ordered by de Moraes in his decision.

Bolsonaro is expected to remain in Brasilia for his house arrest as he is not allowed to travel. The former army captain is the fourth former president of Brazil to be arrested since the end of the country's military rule from 1964 to 1985, which Bolsonaro supported.

'Flagrant disrespect'

The move from the Brazilian justice comes a day after tens of thousands of Bolsonaro supporters took to the streets in the cities of Sao Paulo and Rio, pleading for Brazil's congress to pardon him and hundreds of others who are either under trial or jailed for their roles in the destruction of government buildings in Brasilia on January 8, 2023.

On Sunday, Bolsonaro addressed supporters in Rio through the phone of one of his sons, which de Moraes described as illegal.

"The flagrant disrespect to the precautionary measures was so obvious that the defendant's son, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, decided to remove the posting in his Instagram profile, with the objective of hiding the legal transgression," de Moraes wrote.

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Flávio Bolsonaro claimed on X that Brazil "is officially in a dictatorship" after his father's house arrest.

"The persecution of de Moraes against Bolsonaro has no limits!" the senator wrote.

De Moraes added in his ruling that Jair Bolsonaro, who governed Brazil between 2019 and 2022, has spread messages with "a clear content of encouragement and instigation to attacks against the Supreme Court and a blatant support for foreign intervention in the Brazilian judiciary" - likely a veiled reference to Trump's support for Bolsonaro.

De Moraes also said that Bolsonaro "addressed protesters gathered in Copacabana, in Rio" on Sunday so his supporters could "try to coerce the Supreme Court".

US sanctions Justice de Moraes

Last week, the US Treasury Department announced sanctions on de Moraes over alleged suppression of freedom of expression regarding Bolsonaro's trial. On Monday, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs called the Brazilian justice "a US-sanctioned human rights abuser" and accused him of using "institutions to silence opposition and threaten democracy".

De Moraes said in his decision that "(Brazil's) judiciary will not allow a defendant to make a fool out of it. Justice is the same for all. A defendant who willingly ignores precautionary measures - for the second time - must suffer legal consequences," he said.

Possible trouble ahead

Creomar de Souza, a political analyst of Dharma Political Risk and Strategy, a political consultancy firm based in Brasilia, said Bolsonaro's house arrest opens a new moment for the country's opposition, which could gather steam in fighting against Lula's reelection bid next year.

Now, de Souza said, "the 2026 election looks like turmoil" and the political debate in Brazil will likely be split between two key struggles.

The latest decision from the top court keeps Bolsonaro under ankle monitoring, allows only family members and lawyers to visit him, and seizes all mobile phones from his home.

Hours after the order, right-wing lawmakers criticised de Moraes' decision and compared Bolsonaro's situation to that of his predecessors.

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"House arrest for Jair Bolsonaro by de Moraes. Reason: corruption?" asked lawmaker Nikolas Ferreira. "No. His kids posted his content on social media. Pathetic."

The far-right leader is already barred from next year's election due to an abuse-of-power conviction by the country's top electoral court.

Leftist lawmaker Duda Salabert said Bolsonaro's house arrest boosts Brazil's democracy.

"And those who attacked it are about to pay," Salabert said.

(With agency inputs)