The government of U.S. President Donald Trump is in the midst of a confrontation with the authoritarian Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes, close to the socialist leader Lula da Silva.
The dispute arose after de Moraes ordered U.S.-based companies to censor and close accounts of a right-wing activist, who also resides in the North American country.
According to the judge close to Lula da Silva, the right-wing influencer allegedly committed the "crimes" of "spreading false information" and "spreading hate," two accusations used by leftist governments to censor opponents.
This triggered a legal battle in the United States in defense of freedom of expression. The companies Trump Media & Technology Group and the video platform Rumble denounced Alexandre de Moraes for the authoritarian order, which they refused to comply with.
Alexandre de Moraes.
Additionally, from the official account of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, they published a strong statement against the orders of the Brazilian judge.
"Respect for sovereignty is a two-way street with all U.S. partners, including Brazil. Blocking access to information and imposing fines on U.S.-based companies for refusing to censor people living in the United States is incompatible with democratic values, including freedom of expression," they stated.
The U.S. Justice
In this context, today it was announced that U.S. Judge Mary Scriven determined that Rumble is not obligated to comply with the order issued by the Brazilian judge to remove U.S.-based accounts of a prominent right-wing activist of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
Moraes had instructed Rumble to block the accounts of Allan dos Santos, a digital influencer close to Bolsonaro and residing in the United States.
Dos Santos is considered a "fugitive" in Brazil, where he faces an arrest warrant linked to Brazilian justice investigations for the alleged "spreading of misinformation" and "hate speech" in Brazil.
Donald Trump y Alexandre de Moraes.
Trump Media and Rumble filed a lawsuit just hours after Moraes was asked to consider whether Bolsonaro, an ally of Trump, should be arrested for allegedly "conspiring to overthrow" the Government of Lula da Silva.
On February 21, the Supreme Court of Brazil suspended Rumble for not complying with the authoritarian court orders. This suspension of Rumble reflects a similar measure that was lifted in the case of X, the platform of Elon Musk, last year.
Moraes is currently leading a campaign against anyone who criticizes the Brazilian government, accusing right-wing activists of allegedly "attacking democracy" and promoting "misinformation," which raises worldwide concern over the censorship of freedom of expression.
