A US judge on Tuesday sided for now with President Donald Trump’s media company in a dispute over whether a top Brazilian judge illegally censored right-wing voices on social media in the United States.
In a case brought by Trump Media & Technology Group and the video-sharing platform Rumble, US District Judge Mary Scriven said Rumble need not comply with the Brazilian judge’s order it remove US-based accounts of a leading supporter of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
Trump Media and Rumble had sued Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Feb. 19, accusing him of trying to “censor legitimate political discourse in the United States” protected by the US Constitution’s First Amendment, by ordering the removal of the accounts.
Scriven, however, said Moraes’ order has yet to be enforced, and was not served upon Trump Media and Rumble in accordance with international treaties.
As a result, the Tampa, Florida-based judge said Trump Media and Rumble are not obligated to comply with Moraes’ orders, making their lawsuit and request for a temporary restraining order premature.
In a statement, Rumble called the order “a complete victory for free speech” that “sends a strong message to foreign governments that they cannot bypass US law to impose censorship on American platforms.”
Trump Media and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Brazil’s Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a similar request.
Moraes had ordered Rumble to block accounts belonging to Allan dos Santos, a digital influencer close to Bolsonaro.
Dos Santos lives in the United States and is considered a fugitive in Brazil, where he faces an arrest warrant in connection with probes into the spread of disinformation and hate.
Trump Media and Rumble sued several hours after Moraes was asked to consider whether Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, should be arrested for plotting to overthrow Brazil’s government following his 2022 election loss.
Trump, a Republican, was also indicted on charges he tried to overturn his own 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. That case has been dropped.
On Feb. 21, Brazil’s Supreme Court suspended Rumble, citing its failure to comply with court orders.
Rumble’s suspension mirrored a since-lifted suspension against Elon Musk’s X last year.
Moraes has spearheaded a crusade against perceived attacks on democracy and political use of disinformation, drawing the ire of Bolsonaro supporters and Musk.
Trump owns about 53% of Trump Media, which runs his Truth Social platform.
His stake is in a trust overseen by his son Donald Trump Jr. Vice President JD Vance invested in Rumble in 2021.
Scriven was appointed district judge by former President George W. Bush in 2008, after serving 11 years as a federal magistrate judge.