A group of Republican lawmakers from the United States sent a letter to the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, on Wednesday (18) asking that Supreme Court Justice Alexandre Moraes and other judges of the court have their American visas canceled or revoked due to the recent X blockade.
The document is signed by Representatives María Elvira Salazar, Carlos A. Giménez, Rich McCormick and Chris Smith and Senator Rick Scott.
“Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has a well-documented history of restricting free speech, especially against individuals and groups with conservative political views. His latest actions represent the culmination of a broader pattern of judicial overreach,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.
“We respectfully request that you deny any application for a U.S. visa or admission to the United States, including the revocation of any existing visa, for Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and the other members of the Brazilian Supreme Court complicit in these anti-democratic practices,” they added.
On Tuesday (17), Salazar, who chairs the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the United States House, and Congressman Darrell Issa had introduced a bill in the house that aims to ensure that any act of censorship carried out by foreign public officials against US citizens is punished with a ban on entry into the country or with deportation, if the official is on American soil.
In the announcement of the project, Salazar mentioned Moraes. The People’s Gazette asked the STF for a position on the letter sent this Wednesday to Blinken, but has not yet received a response.
Moraes blocked X in Brazil in late August after the social network owned by American billionaire Elon Musk, which had closed its local office two weeks earlier, refused to appoint a legal representative in the country. Days later, the First Chamber of the Supreme Court ratified the suspension of the platform.
Musk had been failing to comply with Moraes’ decisions to remove profiles and content from X, claiming they were illegal.
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