BRASILIA: The Brazilian government expressed “deep indignation” to the US embassy on Friday over a social media post targeting the judge overseeing former president Jair Bolsonaro’s trial.

The foreign ministry summoned US charge d’affaires Gabriel Escobar after the embassy posted that Washington was “closely monitoring the situation” of judge Alexandre de Moraes and alleged he was “the key architect of the censorship and persecution” of Bolsonaro, an ally of Donald Trump.

“Threatening the authorities of a democratic country is unacceptable,” a Brazilian diplomatic source said.

The US embassy shared a post by the State Department, which accused Moraes, who is leading Bolsonaro’s trial on charges of plotting a coup, of committing “flagrant human rights abuses”.

Last month, the Trump administration sanctioned Moraes after he ordered Bolsonaro to wear an electronic ankle bracelet and stay off social media for the duration of the trial.

Trump also imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Brazilian goods, which took effect on Wednesday, as punishment for what he called the “witch hunt” against Bolsonaro.

The standoff worsened when Moraes placed the former far-right leader under house arrest for flouting the ban on social media use.

In an apparent warning to other members of the judiciary that they too could face sanctions, the State Department said “Moraes’s allies on the court and elsewhere are strongly advised not to aid or abet Moraes sanctioned behaviour”.

The US embassy in Brazil shared the original statement and also translated it into Portuguese.

Bolsonaro is on trial for allegedly attempting to prevent Lula taking power after losing to him in the 2022 elections.

He faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2025