# Alexandre de Moraes The Brazilian Supreme Court (STF) justice who became the institutional spine of the response to [[Jair Bolsonaro]]'s assault on Brazilian democracy. He belongs in this MOC as a reminder that the opposition to authoritarian populism is sometimes a *court*, not a candidate — and that judges who use aggressive legal tools against an anti-democratic movement become lightning rods in the process. ## Defending the vote, then prosecuting the coup As president of the **Superior Electoral Court (TSE)** during the 2022 election, Moraes oversaw the defense of the vote against Bolsonaro's sustained campaign to discredit Brazil's electronic voting system. After Bolsonaro's supporters stormed the Congress, Supreme Court, and presidential palace on **January 8, 2023**, Moraes led the judicial response — ordering investigations, detentions, and, controversially, the 2024 nationwide suspension of X/Twitter over non-compliance with court orders. ## The Bolsonaro conviction Moraes served as rapporteur in the landmark criminal trial of Bolsonaro for attempting a coup. On **September 11, 2025**, an STF panel convicted the former president on all five counts — including leading an armed criminal organization and attempting the violent abolition of democratic rule — and sentenced him to **27 years and 3 months**. The vote was 4–1, with Justice Luiz Fux the lone dissent. It was the first time a Brazilian ex-president had been convicted of coup-related charges. ## The controversy Moraes is genuinely polarizing. Supporters credit him with saving Brazilian democracy; critics — and not only on the Bolsonarist right — argue his expansive use of judicial power, including unilateral platform bans and broad investigatory reach, sets troubling precedents. He has become a personal target of the international right, including actual U.S. sanctions: a Global Magnitsky designation on July 30, 2025, extended to his wife and her Lex Institute on September 22, 2025, then lifted for all three on December 12, 2025 ([Treasury](https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0257) · [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-removes-brazilian-supreme-court-judge-alexandre-de-moraes-sanctions-list)). He drew that fire precisely because of how central he was to holding Bolsonaro accountable. ## Related - [[International Democratic Opposition Hub]] - [[Jair Bolsonaro]]