The Brazilian Supreme Court has confirmed it has no plans to take former President Jair Bolsonaro into custody for now, after it warned earlier this week he could be arrested for a potential violation of a social media ban.
On Thursday, Justice Alexandre de Moraes described the incident as “isolated” and opted against an arrest warrant.
De Moraes has overseen a case into whether Bolsonaro, a popular far-right figure, attempted a coup against the government of current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, following his defeat in the 2022 presidential election.
The case has been a flashpoint in national and international politics, with Bolsonaro’s supporters — among them, United States President Donald Trump — calling the prosecution politically motivated.
Bolsonaro has long denied orchestrating a scheme to retain power after his four-year term came to a close in 2023.
But prosecutors have accused the former president and his allies of scheming to topple Lula’s incoming government by undermining confidence in the vote, declaring a state of emergency to suspend the government’s functions, and ultimately holding a new election.
Bolsonaro never publicly acknowledged his loss in 2022, and he left the country at the end of his term rather than hand over power to Lula.
His supporters, meanwhile, stormed police headquarters in the capital, blocked highways, and eventually ransacked government buildings representing the presidency, Congress and the Supreme Court, in an apparent attempt to spark a military uprising.
In June, Bolsonaro testified for the first time in the case, forcefully rejecting the allegations against him: “There was never any talk of a coup.”
Prosecutors, meanwhile, have pointed to testimony indicating that Bolsonaro had received and edited a draft from his allies for the declaration of emergency. They say Bolsonaro even had a speech prepared to announce the alleged coup.
The high-stakes trial has prompted a backlash from Trump, who threatened to impose 50 percent tariffs on Brazilian imports to the US, starting on August 1, to force an end to the prosecution.
In a letter announcing the tariffs, Trump called the proceedings “an international disgrace” and compared his myriad legal woes to Bolsonaro’s.
“This trial should not be taking place,” Trump wrote. “It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!”
Justice de Moraes cited international pressure as he imposed a suite of restrictions last Friday to cut off Bolsonaro’s interactions with foreign officials and curtail his movements.
Already, Bolsonaro’s passport had been confiscated, for fear he might be a flight risk. But to prevent him from fleeing abroad, de Moraes ruled that Bolsonaro should be placed under house arrest on nights and weekends.
In addition, the justice decided that Bolsonaro needed to wear an ankle monitor and cease posting to social media, in addition to severing contact with foreign governments.
Since that time, however, Bolsonaro has made media appearances to show off his ankle monitor and blast the Supreme Court’s decisions, excerpts of which have been shared widely on social media.
“This is a symbol of the utmost humiliation,” Bolsonaro said of his ankle monitor.
De Moraes accused Bolsonaro of having “delivered a speech to be shown on digital platforms” and questioned whether it may have been a breach of the ban he imposed.
He gave Bolsonaro’s lawyers a window of 24 hours to respond to his concerns and warned that a violation could result in Bolsonaro’s arrest.
Bolsonaro’s defence team, in response, denied breaching the social media ban and asked for clarity about its scope. The ban had restricted Bolsonaro’s use of third parties to spread his messaging — but it was unclear whether news media fell within that category.
In a court filing on Friday, de Moraes ultimately declined to detain Bolsonaro but warned that any future violations of his restrictions would culminate in his arrest.
He clarified that Bolsonaro is not restricted from giving interviews to news outlets.
