The Brazilian judge at the centre of the Bolsonaro family’s legal battlespublished at 17:56 GMT
17:56 GMT
Ione Wells
North America correspondent
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption,
Supporters of Flávio Bolsonaro hold a sign that reads “Moraes Out” during a rally held in September
The Supreme Court judge who ordered the seizure of Flávio Bolsonaro’s passports – Alexandre de Moraes – is a real nemesis of the Bolsonaro family.
He was the judge who led the coup trial of Jair Bolsonaro, which led to his conviction and 27-year sentence last year. Donald Trump’s administration sanctioned Moraes last year in response to the trial.
Moraes had also previously ordered some social media accounts, including in the US, to be taken down for spreading disinformation. A row over this with Elon Musk once resulted in X temporarily being banned in Brazil.
Whenever I have been to rallies for either Jair or Flávio Bolsonaro over the years, there are often signs and chants saying things like “Moraes out” – or even images portraying him as a devil.
Supporters of the Bolsonaro family accuse Moraes of being authoritarian, and the Trump administration has previously accused him of “censorship” and “political persecutions”.
Moraes’s defenders argue he has taken steps to protect Brazilian democracy.
But, there are also some Brazilians who are not fans at all of Bolsonaro but also feel really uncomfortable about some of Moraes’s sweeping investigations and heavy-handed sentences – that have led to allegations that the Supreme Court has become too politicised.