BRASILIA: Brazil’s Supreme Court on Friday (July 18) issued search warrants and restrictions against former president Jair Bolsonaro, accusing him of seeking help from US President Donald Trump to interfere in the country’s justice system.
Federal police raided Bolsonaro’s home and fitted him with an ankle monitor, according to the order signed by Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The court also barred him from contacting foreign officials, using social media or approaching embassies, citing a “concrete possibility” he may flee the country.
The ruling follows reports that Bolsonaro has sought foreign support, including from Trump, amid his ongoing trial on charges he plotted a coup to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office in 2023.
“I feel supreme humiliation,” Bolsonaro told Reuters in an interview at his party headquarters. “I am 70 years old, I was president of the republic for four years,” he said, calling the court orders acts of “cowardice” and describing Moraes as a “dictator.”
TARIFF THREAT FROM TRUMP
Bolsonaro, who is banned from leaving Brazil, said he would meet with Trump if authorities returned his passport, which was seized by police last year. He also said he had sought out the top US diplomat in Brazil to discuss Trump’s recent tariff threat.
Last week, Trump announced a 50 per cent tariff on Brazilian goods starting August 1, saying Bolsonaro was being subjected to a “witch hunt” by an “unjust system.”
On Thursday, Trump posted a letter he sent to Bolsonaro on his Truth Social platform, writing: “I have seen the terrible treatment you are receiving… This trial should end immediately!”
