Brazil’s Supreme Court on Monday suspended Senator Flávio Bolsonaro’s right to visit his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, for 90 days, a period that extends beyond the first round of the presidential election on 4 October. Justice Alexandre de Moraes ruled that the senator’s live-streamed reading of a handwritten letter from his father on 11 July constituted a “disregard” of a judicial order prohibiting the former president from using social media, directly or through third parties. The court also gave Jair Bolsonaro’s defence 48 hours to clarify whether he knew the letter would be published, and referred the video to the Electoral Prosecutor’s Office to investigate possible early campaign propaganda.

Brazilian opposition figures, led by Senator Rogério Marinho, the coordinator of Flávio Bolsonaro’s pre-campaign, described the decision as “authoritarian and disproportionate” and a “clear interference in the political game.” They drew a direct comparison to 2018, when then-imprisoned Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received hundreds of visits and had political letters read publicly by allies without similar restrictions. Senator Sergio Moro, who as a federal judge oversaw Lula’s imprisonment, stated that he “never considered curtailing Lula’s right to visits or correspondence” and that the current ruling lacked “proportionality and legality.” The defence team for Flávio Bolsonaro, who is also registered as his father’s lawyer, argued the ban violates the constitutional right to family visits and the statutory right of a lawyer to communicate with a client.

From within the judiciary, unnamed Supreme Court justices told Brazilian financial daily Valor Econômico that the decision risked handing ammunition to the Bolsonaro camp’s narrative of political persecution. One justice reportedly remarked that “not everything is a violation of a precautionary measure,” while another noted the ruling could inflame tensions at a time when the court already faces impeachment threats in the Senate. The Workers’ Party, through Deputy Lindbergh Farias, countered that the situations are legally distinct: Lula faced no specific court order banning public communication, whereas Jair Bolsonaro’s house arrest explicitly forbids any use of social media, including via intermediaries.

Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year sentence for leading a coup attempt after his 2022 election defeat. He was granted house arrest in March on humanitarian health grounds, subject to strict conditions including the social media ban. The letter read by his son urged supporters to set aside differences and rally behind Flávio’s candidacy, calling him “my spokesperson” and “the best option to rid Brazil of corruption, violence and impoverishment.” Justice Moraes noted that the senator is a “repeat offender,” citing a similar incident in August 2025 when a phone message from the former president was broadcast at a political rally, an episode that led to the initial imposition of house arrest.

The dossier now moves on two tracks. The defence must submit its explanation within 48 hours, and the Electoral Prosecutor’s Office will assess whether the video constitutes illegal early campaigning. Should the court conclude that Jair Bolsonaro knowingly facilitated the publication, his house arrest could be revoked, returning him to a closed prison regime. Flávio Bolsonaro has said he will ask the Brazilian Bar Association to intervene to protect his prerogatives as a lawyer, while his campaign pledged to appeal what it termed an “illegal and unconstitutional” ruling.