Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Federal Court ordered house arrest for former President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday (Aug. 4) for violating a precautionary measure that prohibited him from using third-party social media accounts.
Moraes also ordered a search and seizure at the former president’s residence in Brasília. He imposed new restrictions on Bolsonaro, who is now prohibited from receiving visitors except his lawyers. The former president is also prohibited from using cell phones, including those of third parties.
During the support events held across the country on Sunday (3), Senator Flávio Bolsonaro posted a video on social media with the former president’s statement.
Precautionary Measures
In the last month, Moraes imposed several precautionary measures on Bolsonaro, including the use of an electronic ankle bracelet and restrictions on the use of social media, including third-party accounts.
In his decision on Monday (4), the justice highlighted that Flávio Bolsonaro and the former president’s other two sons, Carlos and Eduardo, posted messages on social media thanking supporters who participated in Sunday’s events.
“There is no doubt that Jair Bolsonaro violated the precautionary measure,” the justice said. “He produced material for publication on the social media accounts of his three sons, as well as his followers and political supporters, with content that clearly encouraged and incited attacks on the Supreme Federal Court and openly supported foreign intervention in the Brazilian Judiciary.”
The precautionary measures were imposed in the context of an investigation against federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro, the former president’s son, for his actions involving the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to promote retaliatory measures against the Brazilian government and Supreme Federal Court justices. In March this year, Eduardo Bolsonaro requested leave from his congressional term and moved to the United States, alleging political persecution.
In this case, the former president is being investigated for allegedly financing his son’s stay abroad. Bolsonaro is also a defendant in the Supreme Federal Court case regarding the alleged coup plot, with the trial scheduled for September.
Source: Agência Brasil