SAO PAULO, July 13 - A ruling by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has prohibited Senator Flavio Bolsonaro from visiting his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, for a period of 90 days, court documents show.
In the decision, Moraes found that a letter authored by the ex-president and posted on social media by the senator over the weekend violated the terms of the former president’s house arrest. The justice noted that the conditions of the house arrest explicitly included a restriction on social media use, whether directly or through intermediaries.
The letter in question was circulated amid a public family dispute between Senator Bolsonaro and his stepmother, former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro. In the text, the former president wrote that it was time "to set aside any differences, and have everyone commit to supporting" his son’s presidential campaign.
Legal filings show the visitation ban extends for 90 days. The measure comes as Senator Bolsonaro positions himself as a potential challenger to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the upcoming election, with the first round scheduled for Oct. 4 and a potential runoff on Oct. 25. The court order noted the social media restriction as a specific element of the house arrest regime that was breached when the letter was disseminated.
Senator Flavio Bolsonaro and representatives for the former president did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to court filing notes.
Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced last year to more than 27 years in prison for plotting a coup against President Lula after losing the 2022 election, and was subsequently placed under house arrest on health grounds.
Context and implications
The court’s prohibition on visits addresses alleged violations of the specific limits imposed by the house-arrest terms, notably the ban on using social media channels directly or via third parties. The ruling interrupts direct contact between the senator and the former president for the specified period, and the court cited the social-media element as the key breach.
While the decision is narrowly focused on visitation and the enforcement of house-arrest conditions, it arrives at a politically sensitive moment ahead of Brazil’s presidential contest this year.
What remains unclear
The court documents do not provide further detail on enforcement mechanics beyond the 90-day visitation restriction nor do they state what additional steps, if any, might follow should further breaches be identified. The responses from the senator and the former president’s representatives were not available at the time the ruling was reported.