The Department of Justice just delivered a scathing rebuke to Brazil’s Supreme Court, defending free speech rights in a bold move that’s being called “unprecedented.” At the heart of the international clash is Rumble, the U.S.-based video-sharing platform known for resisting censorship, and a Brazilian judge who tried to muzzle a user on American soil.
In May, the DOJ sent a formal letter to Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a powerful figure on Brazil’s Supreme Court, calling out his orders for Rumble to deplatform a Brazilian citizen currently living in the United States. The man, reportedly seeking political asylum, had been accused of spreading so-called disinformation by Brazilian authorities—but Rumble refused to comply with demands to shut him down.
The DOJ made its position crystal clear: U.S. courts don’t take orders from foreign judges.
“To the extent that these documents direct Rumble to undertake specific actions in the United States, we respectfully advise that such directives are not enforceable judicial orders in the United States,” wrote DOJ official Ada Bosque in the letter dated May 7.
The Trump administration’s rebuke follows months of mounting tension between the Biden-appointed judiciary in Brazil and free speech advocates worldwide. Moraes had previously ordered Rumble to suspend operations in Brazil after the platform stood its ground. Now he’s facing potential U.S. sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act for alleged human rights violations related to censorship.
Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski applauded the DOJ’s action, calling it a landmark moment in the global free speech fight. “The letter from the U.S. Department of Justice to a foreign judge over censorship orders is unprecedented,” Pavlovski told Fox News Digital. “It draws a bright red line: foreign officials cannot issue censorship orders that violate the First Amendment or bypass U.S. law.”
The legal standoff escalated last month when Sen. Marco Rubio revealed that the State Department is reviewing sanctions against Moraes. He noted that visa restrictions will soon apply to any foreign officials found guilty of helping suppress Americans’ speech rights.
“For too long, Americans have been fined, harassed, and even charged by foreign authorities for exercising their free speech rights,” Rubio wrote on X. “That ends now.”
Moraes has been dubbed the “censorship czar” of Brazil for his sweeping orders silencing journalists, political opponents, and now foreign platforms. He’s also overseeing the controversial prosecution of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for allegedly plotting a coup after his 2022 election defeat—a case many critics say is more about silencing political dissent than delivering justice.
While Rumble has faced bans or restrictions in China, Russia, France, and now Brazil, the company insists it won’t compromise on free speech. The platform is emerging as a major battleground in the broader war over global censorship, resisting demands from governments around the world to silence users whose views fall outside the ruling class consensus.
President Lula da Silva of Brazil pushed back against the U.S. response this week, blasting the Trump administration for interfering in Brazilian judicial matters. But critics note that it’s Brazil, not the U.S., attempting to assert its laws across international borders.
“This isn’t about Brazil’s sovereignty—it’s about ours,” a senior DOJ official said off the record. “If foreign judges think they can dictate what speech platforms can host in America, they’re going to find out the hard way that the First Amendment isn’t up for negotiation.”
As the Biden-era censorship culture continues to collapse and Trump’s DOJ reasserts constitutional rights, the international free speech debate is heating up fast. With Rumble now at the center of it, the fight is no longer hypothetical—it’s global, and it’s personal.
