Brazil's Bolsonaro Ordered to Wear Ankle Monitor Amid Election Plot Probe

Brazil's Supreme Court orders Bolsonaro to wear ankle monitor, bans social media use and contact with co-defendants, amid election plot trial and U.S. interference concerns.

Brazil's Supreme Court has issued a directive requiring former President Jair Bolsonaro to wear an ankle monitor.

This decision was made on Friday as law enforcement officers carried out searches at Bolsonaro’s residence and at the headquarters of his political party in Brasília.

In addition to the monitoring device, the court has ordered Bolsonaro to refrain from using social media platforms and to stop engaging in any form of communication with diplomats.

Furthermore, the former president is now prohibited from contacting other individuals who are also under investigation in the case — including his son, Eduardo Bolsonaro. Eduardo is currently residing in the United States and is known to have strong ties with former U.S. President Donald Trump.

These legal measures are reportedly designed to prevent Bolsonaro from fleeing to the United States. The concern arises amid Trump’s recent threats to impose significant tariffs on Brazilian imports — a move some interpret as an attempt to reduce legal pressure on Bolsonaro.

Bolsonaro, who is currently on trial over allegations of orchestrating a plan to overturn the outcome of Brazil’s 2022 presidential election, denied any intention of escaping the country. He described the Supreme Court’s order as his “supreme humiliation.”

Trump, who shared a close relationship with Bolsonaro during their respective presidencies, has publicly expressed his support, claiming the Brazilian ex-leader is being persecuted unfairly.

“I have seen the terrible treatment you are receiving at the hands of an unjust system turned against you,” Trump wrote in a letter to Bolsonaro. The message, which was posted to social media on Thursday night — prior to the raids and the court’s ruling — voiced Trump’s sympathy and condemnation of the legal proceedings.

Trump further asserted that his proposed 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports were strategically intended to pressure Brazilian authorities to drop the charges against Bolsonaro.

Unlike other tariffs Trump has implemented, including those directed at U.S. allies, the proposed duties on Brazil — scheduled to take effect in August — were framed in explicitly political language. Trump claimed they were a response to what he called “Brazil's insidious attacks on Free Elections.”

In response, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva dismissed the tariffs as “unacceptable blackmail.”

The Supreme Court’s restrictions on Bolsonaro are also linked to a second investigation involving Eduardo Bolsonaro. Eduardo is accused of working with U.S. authorities to pursue sanctions against Brazilian officials.

Earlier this week, Eduardo shared a video filmed outside the White House, stating that he had just completed a series of meetings with U.S. officials.

Reports indicate that during these meetings, he advocated for sanctions to be placed on the Brazilian judge presiding over his father’s case.

Speaking to Reuters, Jair Bolsonaro stated that he believes Eduardo will apply for U.S. citizenship instead of returning to Brazil.

Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing Bolsonaro’s trial — now nearing its conclusion — accused both Jair and Eduardo Bolsonaro of encouraging “hostile acts” against the Brazilian state.

The judge stated that Bolsonaro had gone so far as to solicit the "head of state of a foreign nation" to intervene in Brazil’s judicial affairs.