{"id":121273,"date":"2025-08-05T16:09:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-05T16:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/121273\/"},"modified":"2025-08-05T16:09:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T16:09:12","slug":"us-steps-up-efforts-to-help-bolsonaro-avoid-jail-over-alleged-coup-plot-jair-bolsonaro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/121273\/","title":{"rendered":"US steps up efforts to help Bolsonaro avoid jail over alleged coup plot | Jair Bolsonaro"},"content":{"rendered":"

The US has intensified its campaign to help Jair Bolsonaro<\/a> avoid punishment for allegedly masterminding a failed coup, with the state department denouncing the decision to place Brazil\u2019s former president under house arrest<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet Bolsonaro speak!\u201d the department\u2019s bureau of western hemisphere affairs tweeted on Monday night after the far-right populist was confined to his mansion in the capital, Bras\u00edlia, and police seized his mobile phone.<\/p>\n

Alexandre de Moraes, the supreme court judge overseeing the trial, said he had taken the decision as a result of what he called Bolsonaro\u2019s deliberate violation of a court order forbidding him from using social media or communicating with foreign diplomats. \u201cJustice is blind but it isn\u2019t stupid,\u201d Moraes wrote in Monday\u2019s order.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration has thrown its weight behind efforts to help Bolsonaro avoid a lengthy jail sentence for allegedly plotting to seize power after he lost the 2022 election to his leftwing rival, Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva<\/a>. Federal police claim the conspiracy included plans to assassinate Lula, his vice-president, Geraldo Alckmin, and Moraes. The plot allegedly culminated on 8 January 2023, a week after Lula took power, when thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed congress, the supreme court and the presidential palace in what police claim was an unsuccessful attempt to start a military intervention.<\/p>\n

But Trump has claimed his ally \u2013 who is currently being tried by the supreme court \u2013 is the victim of a politically motivated \u201cwitch-hunt\u201d and last week slapped Magnitsky sanctions on Moraes<\/a>. The US president has also announced 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports from Wednesday. \u201cThis trial should not be taking place!\u201d Trump wrote in a letter to Lula earlier this month calling Bolsonaro\u2019s treatment \u201can international disgrace\u201d.<\/p>\n

Bolsonaro supporters in Bras\u00edlia call for his release. Photograph: Ueslei Marcelino\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

After Bolsonaro\u2019s house arrest on Monday, the state department hinted that other members of Brazil\u2019s 11-seat supreme court could soon face Magnitsky sanctions, which are normally used to punish the perpetrators of major human rights violations. \u201cThe United States condemns Moraes\u2019 order imposing house arrest on Bolsonaro and will hold accountable all those aiding and abetting sanctioned conduct,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s attempt to interfere in Brazil\u2019s justice system has outraged progressive Brazilians, who decry what they see as a flagrant violation of their country\u2019s sovereignty. But the US president\u2019s actions have exhilarated Bolsonaro\u2019s sizeable support base, with Bolsonaristas hoping Trump\u2019s intervention will help put pressure on congress to approve an amnesty that will ensure their leader avoids prosecution.<\/p>\n

Supporters protest in a car caravan on Monday, passing a giant screen announcing Bolsonaro\u2019s house arrest. Photograph: Ueslei Marcelino\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Bolsonaro, 70, is widely expected to be found guilty when the coup trial concludes in the coming weeks and faces spending the rest of his life in jail. He has repeatedly denied the charges but has admitted seeking \u201calternative\u201d forms of remaining in power after losing the election.<\/p>\n

On Monday night, hundreds of followers flocked to the gates of Bolsonaro\u2019s upmarket condominium to vent their anger, some carrying US flags.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want Trump to help us,\u201d said one protester, Ricardo, who wore a red Maga cap and declined to give his second name as he stood outside Bolsonaro\u2019s compound holding up a star-spangled banner. \u201cOur solution can no longer come from within [Brazil]. It has to come from abroad. The sanctions are working. More people need to be hit with Magnitsky.\u201d<\/p>\n

Close allies of the former president were also present and vowed to launch a wave of demonstrations to protest against their leader\u2019s plight.<\/p>\n

A woman shows her support for the former president. Photograph: Ueslei Marcelino\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat they are doing to President Bolsonaro is an outrage,\u201d the ex-president\u2019s brother-in-law, Eduardo Torres, said. He described Bolsonaro as \u201ca hostage\u201d. He added: \u201cWe will occupy [the streets] and we will bring Brazil to a standstill if that\u2019s what we need to do to defend our freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lenildo Mendes dos Santos Sert\u00e3o, a brawny Amazonian congressman who goes by the nickname Delegado Caveira (\u201cPolice chief Skull\u201d), said he believed Bolsonaro\u2019s political future could still be salvaged.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spoke with him yesterday. He\u2019s very shaken. Very downcast. But he\u2019s a soldier and he is in the trenches and at the right time he will come out and we really believe that he will be our candidate in the presidential election,\u201d Caveira said, as he marched towards the entrance to the compound Bolsonaro can no longer leave.<\/p>\n

Another pro-Bolsonaro lawmaker, Maur\u00edcio Souza, called on truck drivers, entrepreneurs and members of the agribusiness community to stage a nationwide strike against the supreme court\u2019s \u201ctyranny\u201d. \u201cBrazil is going to grind to a halt,\u201d Souza told reporters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The US has intensified its campaign to help Jair Bolsonaro avoid punishment for allegedly masterminding a failed coup,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":121274,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[51,50,52],"class_list":{"0":"post-121273","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114977031062012244","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121273\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}