Minister Alexandre de Moraes of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) was sanctioned on Wednesday (30) by the United States with the magnitsky law. It punishes foreigners that the US consider “serious human rights violators”. A Measure represents, so far, the apex of a crisis between the magistrate and the Americans, which began in 2024 with the release of Twitter Files Brazil. Remember below the main moments.
The clash between Musk and Moraes
In April 2024, a report published by Gazeta do Povo In partnership with American journalist Michael Shellenberger revealed email exchanges among old employees Twitter (currently X) and Brazilian authorities. Messages, sent between 2020 and 2022, showed personal data requests from users and requests for suspension of profiles under investigation in the country.
After the publication, businessman Elon Musk, owner of X, accused the Brazilian judiciary of imposing illegal court orders to block popular accounts in Brazil, especially conservative bias. In public statements, Musk directly criticized the STF Minister Alexandre de Moraes, questioning the alleged censorship practiced in the country and defending the magistrate’s impeachment or resignation for, according to him, violations of Brazilian law.
With the repercussion of the case and the backing of figures from the Brazilian right to Elon Musk, Minister Alexandre de Moraes included the businessman in the inquiry 4,874, which investigates the performance of alleged “digital militias” linked to “undemocratic disorders”.
In addition, Moraes intensified the pressure on platform X, imposing fines of $ 100,000 per profile whose access to data and whose suspension were determined by court decision.
X blockade and fine for those who used VPN
In late August 2024, the clash between Elon Musk and Minister Alexandre de Moraes won a new chapter with the suspension of X activities in Brazil, feeding the international debate on possible violations of freedom of expression in the country.
At the time, Musk had already closed the company’s offices in Brazil and removed his legal representatives after one of them was threatened by arrest by Moraes.
The minister also determined a fine of $ 50,000 to users who access the network through VPNs – a measure that remained in force for almost a month, until the normalization of the service in the country.
In response, Musk launched an official profile on the platform itself, called Alexandre Filesdedicated to the dissemination of confidential judicial decisions attributed to Moraes and which, according to the entrepreneur, would constitute attacks on freedom of expression in social networks.
Trump and Rumble are allied with Moraes
In February 2025, the confrontation between Minister Alexandre de Moraes and digital platforms gained international projection. Documents released by X revealed that other companies – including Facebook, YouTube and Rumble – were also the target of legal orders issued by Moraes, requiring the provision of personal data from Brazilian users.
Rumble, the United States -based video platform, refused to comply with the determinations and accused the STF minister of acting illegally. On the 19th, the company, next to Trump Media – a company of US President Donald Trump – filed a lawsuit against Moraes, claiming that the minister violated US sovereignty by ordering the removal of accounts of a “political dissident A”. The description coincides with the profile of Brazilian journalist and influencer Allan dos Santos.
Following the announcement of the process, Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski challenged Moraes publicly, stating that the platform “will not comply with illegal orders” and that the dispute will be resolved in the courts. Days later, Moraes ordered Rumble’s suspension in Brazil, repeating the measure applied to X the previous year.
On the 25th, a Florida court ruled in favor of Rumble and Trump Media, stating that both companies are not required to comply with court orders issued by Moraes.
American Congress presses Moraes
The clash between Alexandre de Moraes and digital platforms also reverberated at the United States Congress. One day after the decision favorable to Rumble and Trump Media in Florida, the Judicial Committee of the Chamber of Representatives – equivalent to the Constitution and Justice Commission in Brazil – approved a bill that aims to foreign authorities accused of violating the first amendment of the American Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.
The text proposed the prohibition of entry into the US of any foreign authority involved, directly or indirectly, in actions that underlie this fundamental right. If it is already on American soil, the individual may be deported. The project, however, has not yet been approved by the House Plenary.
Trump government full pressure from the US Congress
Donald Trump’s government has also officially positioned themselves about Brazilian court decisions against digital platforms based on US territory.
The demonstration came from the Western Hemisphere Office, linked to the US State Department, which classified orders against technology companies as “incompatible with democratic values.” The statement expressly mentioned the Brazilian case as a cause for concern.
In response, the Lula government stated that it had received the demonstration “with surprise” and criticized the attempt, according to Itamaraty’s note, “politicizing court decisions.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated that the United States “distorted the meaning” of decisions made by the Federal Supreme Court.
Eduardo Bolsonaro enters the fight against Moraes
On March 21, 2025, federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro, who had just announced a license from his mandate to go to the United States, commented in a live about possible sanctions from the US government to Minister Alexandre de Moraes. According to him, there would be a “very big problem” for Moraes to use any bank service in the US if he was sanctioned, mentioning Visa and Mastercard cards as an example.
Two months later, on May 21, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was a “great possibility” of Moraes being the target of sanctions from the US government. The statement was given in response to a question by Republican Deputy Cory Mills (Florida), who mentioned the possibility of using magnitsky law – legislation that allows the US to punish foreigners accused of violating human rights. Soon after, on May 26, Moraes ordered the opening of an inquiry against Eduardo Bolsonaro, suspected of acting in the United States against the Brazilian judiciary.
On June 5, former President Jair Bolsonaro gave testimony to the Federal Police and said he only knew the magnitsky law only. Denied having taken any concrete measure for its application against Brazilian authorities. The statement was made in the context of the investigation investigating his son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, for actions in the United States. The next day, Rumble and Trump Media fired the US court to sanction Moraes for censorship of US citizens and companies.
Tension with Moraes becomes a diplomatic crisis
The tension between the United States and Moraes became a true diplomatic crisis between Brazil and the US in July 2025, after statements by Donald Trump. On the 6th, the US President threatened to impose rates on any country that align with “BRICS anti -American policies”, in reaction to a recent meeting of the bloc – composed of Brazil, China, Russia, India and others.
The next day, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva responded to the threat, stating that Brazil did not accept interference in his sovereign decisions. “We don’t accept any complaints against the BRICS meeting,” said Lula.
A day later, Trump intensified the confrontation by declaring public support to former President Jair Bolsonaro, who, according to him, was being the target of political persecution in Brazil. Lula chose not to respond directly to the accusation.
The climb continued. On July 9, Trump sent a formal letter to Lula, in which he classified the treatment given to Bolsonaro as a “witch hunt” and asked the lawsuit against the former president to be closed immediately.
In the letter, Trump accused the STF of issuing “hundreds of secret and illegal censorship orders” against US social networking platforms and announced a 50% rate on Brazilian products exported to the United States from August 1 – the first concrete measure of the sanction package.
The situation continued to get worse. On July 17, Trump published a new letter, this time directly addressed to Bolsonaro, through the Truth Social network. He reinforced his support to the former president and hardly criticized the Brazilian judicial system, stating that the trial against Bolsonaro “needs to end immediately.”
First sanctions and magnitsky law
The next day, July 18, Minister Alexandre de Moraes determined precautionary measures against Bolsonaro: use of electronic anklet, prohibition of contact with his son Eduardo Bolsonaro, restriction of access to embassies and impediment to giving interviews.
Hours later, the United States responded with one more sanction: the cancellation of the visas of eight STF ministers-among which Alexandre de Moraes appeared-, the Attorney General, Paulo Gonet, and his closest family members.
Finally, this Wednesday (30) the US government sanctioned Moraes with the magnitsky law. Now all the minister and companies in their name in the US will be blocked. In addition, it will not be able to perform operations that pass through the American banking system, as well as to blocked its international US -based flag credit cards.
Moraes is still prohibited not only from entering the US, but also from negotiating with US companies and citizens, who may be penalized under the same terms as the law if they disobey it. The minister may be prevented from accessing services such as Gmail, Google Drive, YouTube and Google Pay, even if trying to use them in Brazil or other countries, as companies like Google, Goal, Amazon and Apple, which are headquartered in the US, are legally required to monitor and report any financial, digital or contractual movements, otherwise they are also sanctioned.
In addition, shortly after the determination of Alexandre de Moraes’s framing in the Magnitsky Law, Trump signed a decree anticipating the application of 50% of tariffs to Brazil, which should take place on August 1, for today. However, items such as orange juice and pulp, fertilizers, non -military civil aircraft, wood and others were excluded from taxation.
