Banned from using social media, Bolsonaro appears in a video on Flávio's profile

1:04

BRASÍLIA - Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), ordered this Monday, 4, the house arrest of former president Jair Bolsonaro. In addition, he ordered the confiscation of any cell phones in the former president's possession after concluding that he violated the precautionary measures initially provided for.

The Federal Police were dispatched to Bolsonaro's home and confirmed that the house arrest and search and seizure warrants were served. Estadão learned that one of the former president's phones was seized.

The Federal Police team did not need to enter Bolsonaro's home to serve the warrants. They approached the former president as he was arriving at his garage, inside the condominium. During the operation, the Federal Police issued a house arrest order and informed him of the need to seize Bolsonaro's cell phone. According to investigators, the former president handed over the phone on the street, in front of his garage.

As reported by Estadão, last Sunday, during the demonstration held in Copacabana, the former president spoke via telephone contact with Congressman Fedo Filho Flávio Bolsonaro, who published the speech on social media. At the demonstration in São Paulo, Congressman Nikolas Ferreira showed Bolsonaro in a video call. Moraes had determined that Bolsonaro could not use social media, even through third parties.

In the decision, Moraes stated that “acting illicitly, the defendant Jair Messias Bolsonaro addressed the protesters gathered in Copacabana, in Rio de Janeiro, intentionally and consciously producing prefabricated material for his supporters to continue trying to coerce the Supreme Federal Court and obstruct justice, so much so that the phone call with his son, Flávio Nantes Bolsonaro, was published on the Instagram platform.”

The minister also said that “the defendant Jair Messias Bolsonaro made a telephone call, via video call, with his political supporter and federal deputy Nikolas Ferreira, demonstrating disrespect for the decision handed down by this Supreme Court, due to the clear objective of endorsing the theme of the manifestation of attacks on the STF,” wrote Moraes.

Moraes ordered a ban on visits to Bolsonaro, except by the former president's lawyers, those with power of attorney in the case, and other individuals previously authorized by the Supreme Federal Court. He also banned the use of cell phones, either directly or through third parties.

Furthermore, the ban on maintaining contact with ambassadors or any foreign authorities, as well as with other defendants and those investigated in the various criminal proceedings related to the coup trials and the investigation into obstruction of justice and the use of social media, including through third parties, remains in place.