President Trump's media company sued Brazil's Supreme Court justice on Wednesday, accusing him of illegally censoring right-wing voices on social media.
The unusual move made its timing even more extraordinary: Just a few hours ago, Brazilian justice had received an indictment, forcing him to decide whether to order the arrest of Jair Bolsonaro, former Brazilian president and Mr. Trump's allies. Justice is monitoring multiple criminal investigations into Mr. Bolsenro.
Trump Media & Technology Group is owned by Mr. Trump and runs his truth social networking site – on Wednesday morning, suing Brazilian justice in U.S. federal court in Tampa, Florida, U.S., Alexander Alexandre de Moraes. Joining the plaintiff is Rumble, a Florida-based video platform that, like Truth Social, is home to free speech.
The lawsuit appears to represent Mr. Trump’s amazing efforts to put pressure on foreign judges as he weighs the fate of a right-wing leader who is charged like him for his attempt to overturn election losses.
Mr. Bolson Rowe explicitly called on Trump to take action against Justice Moras in an interview with the New York Times last month. At the time, it was unclear how Mr. Trump could influence Brazil's domestic politics.
Both companies accused Justice Moras of censoring political discourse in the United States and ordered Rumble to order Rumble to remove the narrative of Mr. Bolsonaro's prominent supporters, thus infringing on the First Amendment.
The two companies believe that the orders could apply to ways in which these accounts violate U.S. law in the United States. Mr. Trump's company is not bound by Justice Moras' orders, but it noted in the lawsuit that it relies on Rumble's technology, so if Rumble's actions are affected, it could be compromised.
Judge Moras believes that his actions are necessary to protect Brazil from anti-democratic actions by Mr. Bolsenro and his supporters. His spokesman said Justice Moras did not comment immediately.
It is not clear how or how the lawsuit affects the lawsuit in Brazil. Justice Moras, in his active investigation into Mr. Bolsenro and his supporters, has largely demonstrated the intense criticism and pressure of Brazil's rights for years.
As part of an investigation into the democratic attacks in Brazil, Justice Moras ordered the arrest of Mr. Bolsenro's allies, confiscated the former president's passport, and suspended hundreds of social media accounts belonging to his supporters. Last year, Justice Moras fought against Elon Musk and won the victory – blocking Mr. Musk from his social network X in Brazil until the billionaire refused to refuse to comply with the judge's order.
These actions also raise questions about whether Justice Moras poses a threat to democracy even for moderate Brazilians.
These actions can also be said to be Mr. Bolsonaro's political competitors and targets. In 2023, a mob of Mr. Bolsenro's supporters raided the Brazilian Supreme Court. Late last year, a Bolsonaro supporter tried to bomb the Supreme Court but only killed himself. On Tuesday, new details emerged in Mr. Bolsenro's indictment, suggesting that the former president and his allies had planned the assassination of Justice Moras as part of their campaign to rule, according to Brazilian investigators. .
Mr. Bolsonaro denied that he attempted to carry out a coup or had any knowledge of the plot to kill Justice Moraes.
Justice Moras's task was his most important decision to date: whether to arrest Mr. Bolsenro.
As head of federal investigation into the former president, he received the indictment and will decide how to proceed. His first business would weigh whether Mr. Bolsonaro represents flight risks and should therefore be sentenced to prison until trial in prison. Justice Moras has taken such measures against Mr. Bolsonro's allies, including his former running companion, who has been sentenced to jail since December.
