Minister Alexandre de Moraes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), was cited by email this Sunday (24) to respond to a lawsuit filed in the United States by the social network Rumble and the Trump Media & Technology Group, owner of Truth Social, a platform linked to American President Donald Trump.
The notification was sent by lawyer Martin de Luca, who represents the companies in the process. He published the court summons on his profile on X. According to the document, Moraes will have 21 days to respond to the initial petition.
If the minister does not speak out, the action may continue in absentia, without his formal participation in the defense.
The electronic summons was authorized on Friday (22) by the Federal Court of Florida. The process had been stopped since 2025 precisely due to the lack of formal notification from the Brazilian magistrate.
Rumble and Trump Media sued the American courts to challenge Moraes’ decisions that determined the removal of profiles of Bolsonarista influencers from digital platforms. The companies claim the orders violate the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which protects free speech.
In February, the companies’ lawyers asked for authorization to notify Moraes by email. The argument was that previous attempts at citation through formal channels in Brazil did not advance.
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On social media, Martin de Luca stated that he tried for “many months” to notify the minister through the Hague Convention, an international mechanism used to legally notify defendants in other countries.
“Instead of allowing the notification to proceed, Brazilian authorities turned the process into a political shield for Moraes,” the lawyer wrote.
The authorization for service by email is based on a recent understanding of the Florida Supreme Court, which now allows this type of service for defendants residing outside the United States.
As the case is being processed in a federal court located in Florida, the American Court considered the state’s legislation and jurisprudence to allow electronic submission.
Still, Moraes may challenge the validity of the citation. One of the possibilities is to claim that the Hague Convention, as it is an international treaty incorporated by federal law, could not be overcome by an interpretation by the Florida state court.
This questioning, however, would require manifestation within the American process itself. In practice, by requesting the nullity of the summons, the minister would formally act in the action in which he is questioned by the platforms.
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