BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil’s Supreme Court put former President Jair Bolsonaro under house arrest on Monday ahead of his trial for an alleged coup plot, underscoring the court’s resolve despite escalating tariffs and sanctions from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the target of U.S. Treasury sanctions last week, issued the arrest order against Bolsonaro. His decision cited a failure to comply with restraining orders he had imposed on Bolsonaro for allegedly courting Trump’s interference in the case.

Bolsonaro is on trial before the Supreme Court on charges he conspired with allies to violently overturn his 2022 electoral loss to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Trump has referred to the case as a “witch hunt” and called it grounds for a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods taking effect on Wednesday.

The U.S. State Department condemned the house arrest order, saying Moraes was using Brazilian institutions to silence opposition and threaten democracy, adding the U.S. would “hold accountable all those aiding and abetting sanctioned conduct.”

It did not provide details, though Trump has said the U.S. could still impose even higher tariffs on Brazilian imports.

The Monday order from Moraes also banned Bolsonaro from using a cell phone or receiving visits, except for his lawyers and people authorized by the court.

A press representative for Bolsonaro confirmed he was placed under house arrest on Monday evening at his Brasilia residence by police who seized his cell phone.

Bolsonaro’s lawyers said in a statement they would appeal the decision, arguing the former president had not violated any court order.

In an interview with Reuters last month, Bolsonaro called Moraes a “dictator” and said the restraining orders against him were acts of “cowardice.”

Some Bolsonaro allies have worried that Trump’s tactics may be backfiring in Brazil, compounding trouble for Bolsonaro and rallying public support behind Lula’s leftist government.

However, Sunday demonstrations by Bolsonaro supporters — the largest in months — show that Trump’s tirades and sanctions against Moraes have also fired up the far-right former army captain’s political base.

Bolsonaro appeared virtually at a protest in Rio de Janeiro via phone call to his son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, in what some saw as the latest test of his restraining orders.

Moraes said that the former president had repeatedly made attempts to bypass the court’s orders.

“Justice is blind, but not foolish,” the justice wrote in his decision.

On Monday, Senator Bolsonaro told CNN Brasil that Monday’s order from Moraes was “a clear display of vengeance” for the U.S. sanctions against the judge, adding: “I hope the Supreme Court can put the brakes on this person (Moraes) causing so much upheaval.”

The judge’s orders, including the restraining orders under penalty of arrest, have been upheld by the wider court.

Those orders and the larger case before the Supreme Court came after two years of investigations into Bolsonaro’s role in an election-denying movement that culminated in riots by his supporters that rocked Brasilia in January 2023. That unrest drew comparisons to the January 6, 2021 riots at the U.S. Capitol after Trump’s 2020 electoral defeat.

In contrast with the tangle of criminal cases which mostly stalled against Trump, Brazilian courts moved swiftly against Bolsonaro, threatening to end his political career and fracture his right-wing movement. An electoral court has already banned Bolsonaro from running for public office until 2030.

Another of Bolsonaro’s sons, Eduardo Bolsonaro, a Brazilian congressman, moved to the U.S. around the same time the former president’s criminal trial kicked off to drum up support for his father in Washington. The younger Bolsonaro said the move had influenced Trump’s decision to impose new tariffs on Brazil.

In a statement after the arrest on Monday, Congressman Bolsonaro called Moraes “an out-of-control psychopath who never hesitates to double down.”

Trump last month shared a letter he had sent to Bolsonaro. “I have seen the terrible treatment you are receiving at the hands of an unjust system turned against you,” he wrote. “This trial should end immediately!”

Washington based its sanctions against Moraes last week on accusations that the judge had authorized arbitrary pre-trial detentions and suppressed freedom of expression.

The arrest could give Trump a pretext to pile on additional measures against Brazil, said Graziella Testa, a political science professor at the Federal University of Parana, adding that Bolsonaro seemed to be consciously provoking escalation.

“I think things could escalate because this will be seen as a reaction to the Magnitsky sanction” against Moraes, said Leonardo Barreto, a partner at the Think Policy political risk consultancy in Brasilia, referring to the asset freeze imposed on Moraes last week.

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito in Brasilia; Additional reporting by Luciana Magalhaes in Sao Paulo and Daphne Psaledakis in Washington; Writing by Andre Romani and Brad Haynes; Editing by Kylie Madry, Leslie Adler and Lincoln Feast)

Albertsons, one of America’s largest grocery store chains, does not allow store managers to keep transgender-identifying men out of women’s bathrooms, a conservative watchdog warned Tuesday. 

The policy was revealed in a “Woke Alert” campaign from Consumers’ Research targeting Albertsons over its promotion of gender ideology and DEI. Albertsons owns popular chains like Safeway and Vons and operates over 2,000 stores across the country.

In a document obtained by Consumers’ Research and shared with The Daily Wire, Albertsons writes that “requiring a transgender individual (customer or employee) to use the restroom of her gender at birth” would “be a form of transgender discrimination prohibited by our Company policy.”

Albertsons did not respond to requests for comment on when the policy was implemented or whether it was still in place.

The grocery chain was the top sponsor of a pride festival in Boise, Idaho, in 2024, while Safeway was “proud” to sponsor of San Francisco Pride festival. Albertsons Companies Foundation also recently made a number of large donations to transgender activists groups, including $25,000 to the National Center for Transgender Equality for Education. That organization, which is now known as Advocates for Trans Equality, opposes state laws that protect children from transgender medical procedures. 

The Woke Alert also hit Albertsons for its climate activism and DEI policies. 

“Consumers do not need their grocery stores peddling woke policies with produce, but that is exactly what Albertsons is doing,” Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild told The Daily Wire. “Instead of focusing on providing high quality products and services to its customers at competitive prices, Albertsons has promoted discriminatory practices, gender ideology to kids, and committed to radical net-zero climate goals.”

In a 2024 report, Albertsons included “climate action” and “diversity and inclusion” as two “key ingredients” that the company was focusing on changing. This includes a push to hit net zero carbon emissions by 2040, the creation of a variety of identity-focused support groups, and push to support “diverse suppliers.” 

“We are steadfast in our mission to create growth opportunities for small businesses and diverse suppliers, helping to amplify their product visibility on our shelves so we can offer a wide range of products that support our mission to create customers for life among all communities,” the report said. 

Albertsons defines “diverse supplier” as a company that is “at least 51 percent owned, controlled and operated by women, Black, indigenous and people of color, LGBTQ+, veterans or people with disabilities.”

Associate resource groups hosted by Albertsons include the Pride Alliance, Hispanic Leadership Network, Women’s Inspiration and Inclusion Network, and the Asian Network. 

Safeway, one of Albertsons’ subsidiaries, also has posted that it is committed to “diversity and inclusion and thoughtful people practices is a core element of the company’s philosophy, ensuring our employees reflect the diverse communities we serve,” according to a screenshot from Consumers’ Research. 

Safeway DEI/Consumers’ Research.

That page has now been deleted. 

Hild urged Albertsons to abandon its DEI policies, pointing to the Trump administration’s push to eliminate DEI from the federal government and crackdown on funding for entities that implement or offer identity-based quotas and opportunities. 

“President Trump has made it crystal clear that these discriminatory policies need to end and companies should walk away from these political agendas and focus on their core business,” Hild said. “Consumers’ Research will continue to expose companies that are putting a woke agenda over consumers.”