Today, the United States is sanctioning Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes for serious human rights abuse, including arbitrary detention involving flagrant denials of fair trial guarantees and violations of the freedom of expression.
Moraes abused his authority by engaging in a targeted and politically motivated effort designed to silence political critics through the issuance of secret orders compelling online platforms, including U.S. social media companies, to ban the accounts of individuals for posting protected speech. Moraes further abused his position to authorize unjust pre-trial detentions and undermine freedom of expression.
Moraes is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.
The United States will use all appropriate and effective diplomatic, political, and legal instruments to protect the speech of Americans from foreign malign actors like Moraes who would seek to undermine it.
