“Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes’s political witch hunt against Jair Bolsonaro created a persecution and censorship complex so sweeping that it not only violates basic rights of Brazilians but also extends beyond Brazil’s shores to target Americans,” secretary of state Marco Rubio said in a statement.

Brazil's Supreme Court issued search warrants and restraining orders against former President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday, banning him from contacting foreign officials over allegations he courted the interference of U.

Donald Trump ratcheted up pressure on Brazil to drop criminal charges against former President Jair Bolsonaro, saying he would be “watching closely” for a response just a week after threatening to impose punishing tariffs on the South American nation.

If implemented, the sanctions against supreme court justice Alexandre de Moraes would dramatically escalate a widening feud between the United States and Brazil.

A prosecutor has asked Brazil's Supreme Court to find ex-president Jair Bolsonaro guilty of plotting a violent coup after a trial that saw President Trump try to intervene.