Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Congress the Trump administration might sanction a foreign judge infamous for censorship activities.
During a May 21 House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) asked Rubio if the Trump administration might sanction the anti-free speech Brazilian Supreme Court chief justice Alexandre de Moraes, who has been charging political dissidents and pressuring Big Tech companies to censor them. Rubio stated that “it’s a great possibility that [sanctions] will happen.”
Mills began by detailing what he described as an “alarming human rights decline” in Brazil. “[W]e've seen pervasive censorship, political persecution targeting the entire opposition, including journalists and ordinary citizens,” he said.
The senator added that the “politically motivated” crackdown of former president Jair Bolsonaro and his supporters has “extended beyond Brazil's borders, impacting individuals on U.S. soil. ” He asked Rubio, “What do you intend to do and would you be looking at Supreme Court Justice sanctioning, of Alexandre de Moraes, under the Global Magnitsky Act?” This act allows the federal government to impose financial sanctions on foreign entities.
Rubio replied, noting that the possibility of sanctions is “under review right now.”
I am increasingly alarmed with the human rights decline being reported out of Brazil via censorship and persecution. I addressed this with @SecRubio in a hearing today. Watch here
De Moraes’s censorship campaign has greatly impacted U.S. social media companies over the past year. In fact, in September 2024, X owner Elon Musk released information about De Moraes’ outrageous campaign to coerce the platforms to delete posts and censor dissidents.
In February, Rumble and Truth Social scored a free speech victory in a ruling against De Moraes’s demands when he aimed to censor a Brazilian influencer who fled Brazil to the U.S. According to Rumble, a U.S. District Court ruled that De Moraes did not properly serve his orders through either U.S. or international law, meaning that the companies had no obligation to comply with the orders.
Free speech is under attack! Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech and government be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on hate speech and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
