U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reportedly revoked the visa of a Brazilian Supreme Court judge who oversaw the prosecution of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro — a man who President Donald Trump views as an ally.
Bolsonaro is currently facing trial for his involvement in an alleged attempted coup to steal Brazil's 2022 election. Trump has likened the former president's attempted coup trial to his own Stormy Daniels hush-money trial, and called Bolsonaro's prosecution "unjust," according to the Daily Beast.
“I have seen the terrible treatment you are receiving at the hands of an unjust system turned against you,” Trump wrote in a letter he sent to Bolsonaro. “This should end immediately!”
This week, Rubio revoked the visa for Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. He also targeted the judge's allies in the court and their family members, revoking their visas "effective immediately."
Rubio justified the move in a post on social media, accusing those targeted of censoring "protected expression."
“@POTUS made clear that his administration will hold accountable foreign nationals who are responsible for censorship of protected expression in the United States,” Rubio wrote on social media.
Trump and his social media company, The Trump Media & Technology Group, sued de Moraes in February, accusing him of censoring conservatives on social media.
Rubio's announcement came shortly after authorities in Brazil raided Bolsonaro's house and outfitted him with an ankle monitor. He has also been banned from contacting foreign officials.
Rubio made clear his actions were in response to Brazil's moves to hold Bolsonaro accountable.
“Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes’s political witch hunt against Jair Bolsonaro created a persecution and censorship complex so sweeping that it not only violates basic rights of Brazilians, but also extends beyond Brazil’s shores to target Americans,” Rubio said.
Bolsonaro himself has echoed Trump's favorite line when defending himself; he called his trial a "witch hunt."
Trump has gone so far as to threaten anti-Bolsonaro Brazilians by threatening to levy a 50 percent tariff against the nation.
Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — a leftist who defeated Bolsonaro in 2022 — condemned the Trump administration's targeting of Brazilian judges.
"My solidarity and support to the ministers of the Supreme Federal Court affected by yet another arbitrary and completely baseless measure by the United States government," the Brazilian president wrote in a translated social media post.
He further condemned the "interference by one country in another's justice system" as "unacceptable" and in violation of "the basic principles of respect and sovereignty between nations."
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