President Donald Trump’s media company sued Brazilian Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes in U.S. court on Wednesday, accusing the judge of illegally censoring right-wing voices on social media, as Moraes—who once feuded with Elon Musk—weighs whether to arrest Brazil’s former president for an alleged coup.
Once criticized by Elon Musk, the Brazilian justice will also consider whether to arrest Brazil’s ... [+]
Trump Media & Technology Group and the video-sharing platform Rumble allege Moraes violated the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by ordering Rumble to remove accounts that supported Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, in a lawsuit filed in the Middle District of Florida.
Both companies claim Moraes’ orders—including earlier efforts to block accounts on X—“censor legitimate political discourse in the United States,” and asked a judge to declare the orders aren’t enforceable in the U.S. due to the First Amendment.
In February, Moraes ordered Rumble to block the account of one “political dissident” or face a ban in Brazil and daily fine of about $9,000, a ruling both companies argue would affect how that user’s account appears in the U.S. and violate the user’s First Amendment rights.
A ban on Rumble would interfere with Trump Media’s operations as the company relies on Rumble’s technology for video streaming on Truth Social, the companies claim.
Moraes’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Moraes will rule on charges filed Tuesday against Bolsonaro for his alleged involvement in a coup to overturn his loss in Brazil’s 2022 presidential elections. After the election, Bolsonaro’s supporters launched a protest that became violent at Brazil’s federal capital in Brasilia, though the attack failed to instigate a military coup. Prosecutors claim Bolsonaro and 33 others plotted to “bring down the system of the powers and the democratic order,” including a plan to assassinate President Lula da Silva and Moraes, who previously ordered to confiscate Bolsonaro’s passport, officials allege. Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied the allegations against him.
Musk attacked Moraes on social media last year after Moraes ordered a probe into Musk’s X, after the judge accused the social media platform of hosting accounts that spread misinformation. Musk claimed X was asked to suspend accounts for several Brazilian journalists and parliament members without explanation, later criticizing Moraes’ orders as the “most draconian demands of any country.” Moraes gave X a 24-hour window to remove the accounts or face a ban in Brazil, after which Musk mocked Moraes’ appearance by suggesting he looked as if “Voldemort and a Sith Lord had a baby.” X was suspended in Brazil in August 2024, though the ban was lifted in October after the platform met Moraes’ orders, including paying fines and blocking accounts accused of engaging in disinformation.
Moraes has issued several orders in recent years to remove social media accounts for spreading misinformation. He has led several attacks against Bolsonaro’s far-right allies as other Brazilian officials back him, including Brazil’s Attorney General Jorge Messias, who said it is “urgent to regulate social networks” as users spread false claims online. Dias Toffoli, another Brazilian Supreme Court Justice, reportedly said “democracy in Brazil would have collapsed” without Moraes’ investigations into social media platforms. Luis Roberto Barroso, the court’s chief justice, suggested Moraes has overextended his jurisdiction because free speech is protected in the U.S. and not in Brazil, according to the New York Times.