Congressman McCormick Calls for U.S. Action Against Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes

Dear President Trump & Secretary Marco Rubio:

This past week, former President Jair Bolsonaro was indicted in Brazil, in a blatant attempt by the Brazilian regime to sideline the leading candidate for next year’s election. The indictment of former President Jair Bolsonaro is not about justice—it is about eliminating political competition through judicial lawfare, just as President Trump was targeted before making the greatest political comeback in history. Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has turned Brazil’s judiciary into a weapon to crush opposition, protect President Lula, and rig the 2026 election before a single vote is cast. His actions are a direct attack on democracy, free speech, and the rule of law, and we respectfully request that you take action to ensure that Brazil celebrates a free and fair election in 2026.

Moraes is not just a problem for Brazil—he is a growing threat to the United States. He has already tried to censor U.S. companies, suppress free speech, and undermine American digital sovereignty. His assault on platforms like X and Rumble has led to lawsuits from Trump Media, exposing his blatant disregard for U.S. law and our Constitution’s First Amendment protections. In response to the lawsuit, Moraes retaliated by banning all Truth Social videos throughout the country, imposing heavy fines on Elon Musk’s X (who previously suffered similar fines and a blanket ban), imposing a blanket ban on Rumble in Brazil, demanding that American companies provide confidential user information of political dissidents seeking refuge in the United States, and threatening an American CEO with criminal charges. 

The United States cannot allow foreign judges to dictate what Americans can say, read, or publish. Moraes’ behavior is precisely the kind of authoritarian abuse that the Global Magnitsky Act was designed to counter. His blatant violations of human rights, his censorship of political opponents, and his use of judicial power to rig elections warrant immediate U.S. sanctions. Indeed, the White House recently imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court, setting an important precedent for action taken against a foreign court acting lawlessly and against U.S. interests. 

I am calling on the Trump administration and my colleagues in Congress to take decisive action. Moraes and his enablers must face real consequences, including Magnitsky sanctions, immediate visa bans, and economic penalties. The President and State Department have the authority to take these steps, and Moraes must answer for his human rights abuses and antidemocratic actions. If we do nothing, we are signaling that the United States will tolerate judicial tyranny that threatens not only Brazil’s democracy but our own national interests.

The people of Brazil deserve the right to choose their own leaders at the ballot box, not have them removed by a rogue judge. The United States must stand for democracy, free speech, and the rule of law—before it’s too late.

Semper Fidelis, 

Rich McCormick, MD, MBA

Member of Congress