Brazilian Judge Threatens Musk Over ‘Obstruction Of Justice’
Brazil’s far-left judiciary now has Elon Musk in its crosshairs for what it claimed is “obstruction of justice.” The owner of X, formerly Twitter, is unwilling to bend the knee and censor political messaging that the radical government finds objectionable.
An inquiry into Musk was launched by Brazilian Supreme Federal Tribunal Minister Alexandre de Moraes. He is a self-proclaimed “anti-fake news crusader.”
Musk initiated this action when he defied a Brazilian court order that demanded he take down several accounts from the platform. The CEO also called for de Moraes to resign.
De Moraes instructed the Brazilian Federal Police on Monday to probe whether the billionaire entrepreneur obstructed justice or engaged in “incitement to crime.”
Two days earlier, Musk announced that his X platform would defy a de Moraes court order to deplatform a group of Brazilian accounts. The radical judge threatened a fine of roughly $20,000 per day for each account that was allowed to remain on the app.
The platform’s global affairs account posted that it is “prohibited from saying which accounts are impacted” by the judge. It noted that the court orders will be challenged.
But Musk, a self-described “free speech absolutist,” stepped in and reactivated accounts that the judge ordered to be taken down. He called such restrictions unconstitutional.
De Moraes claimed to be investigating “digital militias” that are loyal to former President Jair Bolsonaro. He is also leading an investigation into what leftists charge was a coup attempt by the former leader.
Musk deserves credit for standing up for his beliefs.
In a Saturday post on X, he noted that “this judge has applied massive fines, threatened to arrest our employees and cut off access to X in Brazil.”
But the owner will not be deterred. Musk added, “As a result, we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there. But principles matter more than profit.”
The far-left government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva predictably came to the defense of de Moraes. Solicitor General Jorge Messias blasted Musk and repeated the administration’s demand for social media platforms to be heavily regulated in the country.
In 2023, de Moraes also targeted Google and Telegram as part of Brazil’s censorship program.
