Overview

• In a Truth Social post on July 7, President Trump characterized the trial of Jair Bolsonaro as a “witch hunt” and urged Brazilian authorities to drop the case.
• Bolsonaro is on trial before Brazil’s Supreme Court for allegedly conspiring to prevent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s inauguration after the 2022 election.
• Institutional Relations Minister Gleisi Hoffmann reprimanded Trump’s intervention as an overreach and called for respect for Brazil’s judicial sovereignty.
• President Lula da Silva affirmed that defending democracy is Brazil’s responsibility and emphasized that no one, regardless of rank, is above the law.
• Separately, Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court has enforced an eight-year ban on Bolsonaro holding public office through 2030 for spreading falsehoods about the electoral system.