The media company of U.S. President Donald Trump sued a minister of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court on Wednesday (19), accusing him of illegally censoring right-wing voices on social media.
The lawsuit, which is already unusual, became even more extraordinary given the timing: just hours earlier, Brazilian courts had received a complaint of an alleged coup attempt by Bolsonaro and his allies.
Trump Media & Technology Group — which is predominantly owned by Trump and operates the social network created by the president, Truth Social — sued Minister Alexandre de Moraes in a federal court in Tampa, Florida. The lawsuit was filed by Rumble, a video platform that, like Truth Social, presents itself as a home for free speech.
Both companies accuse Moraes of violating the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which deals with freedom of speech, by ordering Rumble to remove the accounts of some right-wing Brazilian commentators based in the U.S.
In the lawsuit, Trump’s company notes that “since 2022, Minister Moraes has ordered the suspension of nearly 150 accounts, targeting critics of current President Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva, including conservative lawmakers, journalists, legal experts, and even musicians.”
The lawsuit asks U.S. courts to provide safeguards to both companies against possible decisions by Minister Moraes. The lawyers request that orders to remove accounts of Brazilians based in the U.S. be “declared unenforceable” by the Florida court and that the U.S. judiciary “prohibit Minister Moraes from forcing any third party — such as Apple, Google, and all individuals or entities under his direction — to remove or delete the Rumble app or any app from their respective stores.”
Trump and Bolsonaro are allies, with numerous public and mutual political endorsements. However, since the new complaint, Trump has not publicly commented on the situation of his Brazilian ally. Bolsonaro attempted to attend Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., last month, but the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court, which holds the ex-president’s passport, did not authorize his trip.
Source: The New York Times and BBC.