President Donald Trump's media company sued a Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Wednesday, accusing him of illegally censoring right-wing voices on social media.
Trump Media and fellow conservative social media company Rumble sued Justice Alexandre de Moraes and accused him of illegally trying to censor a "well-known politically outspoken user" of Rumble with orders to suspend that user's U.S.-based accounts, CNBC reported.
The suit was filed in federal court in Tampa, Florida.
In their 39-page complaint, the plaintiffs allege that Moraes overstepped his legal authority and international law by seeking to shut down the U.S.-based accounts of a right-wing Brazilian commentator who is seeking asylum in the U.S. The blogger is identified in the complaint only as "Political Dissident A."
According to the complaint, Rumble said it faced a fine of $9,000 a day and a shutdown of its service in Brazil if it doesn't abide by Moraes' order.
Last year, Moraes ordered that Elon Musk's social media platform X be banned in Brazil after months of feuding with the CEO over the limits of free speech.
In early October, Moraes authorized the restoration of X's service in Brazil, more than a month after its nationwide shutdown.
Musk currently is overseeing Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has been tasked to reduce government spending by finding waste, fraud, and abuse.
The new court filing notes that Truth Social "relies on Rumble's cloud-based hosting and video streaming infrastructure to deliver multimedia content to its user base."
"If Rumble were to be shut down, that shutdown would necessarily interfere with Truth Social's operations as well," the attorneys said.
Trump Media and Technology Group CEO and Chairman Devin Nunes issued a statement concerning the lawsuit.
"TMTG is firmly committed to upholding the right to free expression. This is not just a slogan, it's the core mission of this company. We're proud to join our partner Rumble in standing against unjust demands for political censorship regardless of who makes them," Nunes said.
Trump, who had owned the majority of Trump Media stock shares, transferred his entire stake of shares in December to a revocable trust of which he's the sole beneficiary.
On Tuesday, Brazil's prosecutor-general charged former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro of attempting a coup when he tried to remain in office following his 2022 election loss. Moraes is overseeing multiple criminal investigations into Bolsonaro, The New York Times reported.
Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, is accused of participating in a plot to poison current Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and kill Moraes.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.