US freezes Judge Moraes’s assets, citing role in arbitrary detentions, censorship, and Bolsonaro-related prosecutions.
The US Department of the Treasury has said it was imposing sanctions on Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes over alleged suppression of freedom of expression and the ongoing trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro is accused of masterminding a plot to stay in power despite his 2022 election defeat to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. US President Donald Trump has tied new tariffs on Brazil to what he called a “witch hunt” against his right-wing ally.
The announcement on Wednesday of sanctions against Moraes, who oversees Bolsonaro’s case, follows Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement in June saying Washington was considering sanctioning the judge.
Moraes was sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act, which allows the US to impose economic penalties against foreigners it considers to have a record of corruption or human rights abuses.
