President Donald Trump’s media company, Trump Media, is taking legal action against a Brazilian Supreme Court justice in the United States. The lawsuit alleges that the justice violated the First Amendment by issuing orders that resulted in the suspension of certain conservative social media accounts.
The lawsuit, filed by Trump Media and the conservative video platform Rumble, references an unnamed 'political dissident A,' described as a prominent Brazilian political commentator based in the U.S. whose account was suspended by Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
Legal Argument
Lawyers representing the companies argue that the 'Gag Orders' issued by Justice Moraes censor legitimate political discourse in the United States, thus undermining fundamental constitutional protections enshrined in the First Amendment. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
Justice Moraes has been in conflict with former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is an ally of Donald Trump. The lawyers for Trump’s organization cite an executive order signed by Trump that imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court. This executive order rejects foreign judicial attempts to impose their legal standards extraterritorially.
Extraterritorial Conduct
The legal team argues that Justice Moraes's actions, such as coercing Rumble into appointing Brazilian attorneys and threatening punitive actions for non-compliance, mirror the extraterritorial conduct condemned by Trump's executive order.
Justice Moraes has been active in suspending numerous social media accounts in Brazil for spreading what he considers hate speech. At one point, he even temporarily halted the entire X platform, owned by Elon Musk, a key adviser to Trump. Moraes has been vocal in his criticism of tech companies in general.
Legal Challenges
The lawsuit also touches on the ongoing debate regarding the enforceability of Moraes's gag orders outside Brazil. The companies hope that the courts will declare these orders unenforceable and nonrecognizable in the United States.
According to the lawyers, Justice Moraes's extraterritorial demands harm Rumble and Trump Media by undermining lawful American political discourse, a right central to free speech under U.S. principles.