Alexandre de Moraes, the Brazilian Supreme Court justice who banned Twitter in Brazil, petitioned the government to block the social media accounts of everyday citizens for their political beliefs, according to screenshots of documents released Wednesday by Twitter.
de Moraes petitioned the federal government to secretly block the accounts of three social media users, all of whom have under 2,000 Twitter followers, according to the Alexandre Files Twitter account, which the website claims is an official affiliate. One of the screenshots appears to show two of the three accounts the Alexandre Files Twitter account named listed.
“The accounts of the aforementioned citizens were followed by a small number of people and their posts expressed only support for conservative views and politicians,” Alexandre Files wrote.
“Moraes was unable to identify a single illegal post by any of these individuals, much less a reason why their accounts should be blocked in their entirety. Most likely, they were censored because Moraes disagreed with his political beliefs,” the account’s post read.
As ordens ilegais de Alexandre de Moraes censuraram não apenas políticos e jornalistas proeminentes, mas também cidadãos brasileiros comuns.
Nesta ordem do dia 9 de marco de 2023, o ministro, a exemplo de outras ordens semelhantes, ordenou, de maneira secreta, a censura das… pic.twitter.com/hYUhBu3hap
— Alexandre Files (@AlexandreFiles) September 5, 2024
de Moraes’ request asked the government to fine the users 100,000 Brazilian Reals daily if they violated the block, equivalent to $17,000 USD at current exchange rates, according to the screenshots. (RELATED: Major Dem Figures, Liberal Orgs Silent About Brazil Banning Elon Musk’s X)
In addition to blocking the users’ Twitter accounts, de Moraes also flagged some of their YouTube and Instagram accounts, according to screenshots of the documents.
The order is in addition to orders he made blocking the accounts of prominent journalists, media figures and politicians who were critical of him, according to additional screenshots shared by the Alexandre Files.
As another example of Judge de Moraes’ illegal conduct, he issued the following order in January 2023 completely blocking all social media accounts of several prominent Brazilians, including:
– The podcaster Monark (known as the “Brazilian Joe Rogan”)
– Brazilian Senator Alan… pic.twitter.com/C6Gg2PtpH0— Alexandre Files (@AlexandreFiles) September 3, 2024
The Files also detailed de Moraes’ block of Brazilian Senator Marcos Ribeiro Do Val, an act the account said was “in direct violation of Brazilian law.”
For example, Moraes’ August 8 order to X is in direct violation of Brazilian law. See the comparison for yourself 👇
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Por exemplo, a or dm de Moraes para a X do dia 8 de Agosto esta em violação frontal da lei brasileira👇 pic.twitter.com/yKVpfhK0Df— Alexandre Files (@AlexandreFiles) August 31, 2024
“Anyone who seeks to expose him or his accomplices – in any way – must be silenced in the name of ‘democracy,'” the account wrote.
The block, the account notes, is “in violation of Articles 5 and 220 of the Brazilian Constitution.”
Do Val called Fabio Alvarez Shor, the Chief of the Brazilian Federal Police, de Moraes’ “henchman,” which de Moraes cited as a violation of Brazilians’ human rights, the documents say.
Alexandre Files’ release of the documents is the latest chapter in an ongoing saga of the judge’s apparent conflict with Elon Musk’s media company.
In mid-August, Musk ceased Twitter’s operations in Brazil. This came after Twitter accused de Moraes of threatening to jail Twitter’s legal representative in the country after the company refused to comply with his censorship demands.
The legal representative ultimately resigned over the alleged threat, Twitter’s Global Affairs department said.
Then on Friday de Moraes officially banned the entire platform in Brazil, citing the company’s lack of a legal representative. He also froze the company’s bank accounts as well as the bank accounts of another Musk-owned company, the satellite operator Starlink.
Brazil claims to be a free nation safe for foreign investment, but it’s not. It froze the bank accounts of Starlink to get revenge on @ElonMusk for resisting censorship demands. And now Musk’s @SpaceX has been forced to pull out, fearing for its employees in Brazil. pic.twitter.com/qNuO2wicPb
— Michael Shellenberger (@shellenberger) September 4, 2024
Brazil’s Supreme Court upheld de Moraes’ decision in a unanimous Monday decision, the court’s website said, The Associated Press reported.
