The Treasury Department sanctioned a Brazilian justice Wednesday after he used a series of court orders to reportedly target conservative officials and their supporters.
Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes was penalized for using his position to “authorize arbitrary pre-trial detentions” and “suppress freedom of expression,” according to the press release.
President Trump has frequently spoken critically of de Moraes in defense of embattled former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
De Moraes revoked Bolsonaro’s passport and issued additional punishments to the leader who allegedly staged a coup with several dozen others following his 2022 electoral loss to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
“Alexandre de Moraes has taken it upon himself to be judge and jury in an unlawful witch hunt against U.S. and Brazilian citizens and companies,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the press release.
“De Moraes is responsible for an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights, and politicized prosecutions—including against former President Jair Bolsonaro,” he continued. “Today’s action makes clear that Treasury will continue to hold accountable those who threaten U.S. interests and the freedoms of our citizens.”
The move comes almost a week after Secretary of State Marco Rubio revoked de Moraes’s visa and months after the president’s company, Trump Media, also sued the judge.
The lawsuit against de Moraes was rooted in an order directed at the Rumble video platform site to remove a “politically outspoken” user. Trump Media also uses the platform.
The justice also previously banned tech billionaire Elon Musk’s social platform X in Brazil after the tech giant refused to remove what has been called “hate speech.”
The Trump administration’s efforts to single out de Moraes signals his close ties to Bolsonaro, who has called on Trump to help him regain prominence in the region.
Bolsonaro requested to attend the president’s January inauguration but was denied the trip. Instead, his son attended on behalf of the family.
Bolsonaro, also known as “Trump of the Tropics,” was also banned from seeking reelection in Brazil’s upcoming 2026 presidential race.
