Justice Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court, ordered the house arrest of former President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday (Aug. 4) for violating a precautionary measure that barred him from using third-party social media accounts.
Moraes also ordered a search and seizure at the former president’s home in Brasília. He imposed new restrictions on Bolsonaro, who is now barred from receiving visitors, except for his lawyers. The former president is also prohibited from using cell phones, including those belonging to others.
During the support rallies held across the country on Sunday (3), Senator Flávio Bolsonaro posted a video on social media showing the former president’s statement.
Precautionary measures
Last month, Moraes imposed several precautionary measures on Bolsonaro, including the use of an electronic ankle bracelet and restrictions on social media use, including third-party accounts.
In his decision on Monday (4), the judge noted that Flávio Bolsonaro and the former president’s other two sons, Carlos and Eduardo, posted messages on social media thanking supporters who attended Sunday’s events.
“There is no doubt that Jair Bolsonaro violated the precautionary measure,” the judge said. “He produced material for publication on the social media accounts of his three sons, as well as those of his followers and political supporters, with content that clearly encouraged and incited attacks on the Federal Supreme Court and openly supported foreign intervention in the Brazilian judiciary.”
The precautionary measures were issued as part of an investigation into Federal Representative Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of the former president, over his actions involving the administration of US President Donald Trump to promote retaliatory measures against the Brazilian government and Supreme Court justices. In March of this year, Eduardo Bolsonaro took a leave of absence from his congressional mandate and moved to the United States, claiming political persecution.
In this case, the former president is under investigation for allegedly funding his son’s stay abroad. Bolsonaro is also a defendant in the Supreme Court case involving the coup plot, with the trial scheduled for September.
Source: Agência Brasil