The United States Federal Court has authorized Federal Supreme Court (STF) Minister Alexandre de Moraes to be cited via email in a lawsuit filed by the Rumble platform and the Trump Media & Technology Group, the company responsible for Truth Social, a social network linked to President Donald Trump.
The decision was taken by a Florida court and unlocked a process that had been on hold since 2025 due to difficulties in formally notifying the Brazilian minister.
Understand the main points of the case below.
What motivated the action in the USA?
The lawsuit was filed by Rumble and Trump Media alleging that Alexandre de Moraes’ decisions violated the freedom of expression guaranteed by the First Amendment of the American Constitution.
The companies question orders issued by the minister determining the removal of profiles and content linked to right-wing Brazilian influencers, including Allan dos Santos.
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According to the companies, the STF’s determinations would go beyond the limits of Brazilian jurisdiction by affecting companies based in the United States.
Why did Trump Media join the lawsuit?
Although it was not directly targeted by Moraes’ decisions, Trump Media claims that it depends on Rumble’s technological infrastructure to operate Truth Social.
With this, it maintains that it would also have been impacted by Brazilian legal measures related to the platform. Trump Media belongs to the business group linked to Donald Trump.
What has the American justice system decided now?
The Florida court did not analyze whether Moraes committed irregularities or censorship. The decision only dealt with the way in which the minister was summoned.
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The judge authorized the notification to be made by email after months of unsuccessful attempts to communicate through the diplomatic channels provided for in the Hague Convention.
The court also allowed part of the documents attached to the process to remain confidential.
Why did the Hague Convention enter the discussion?
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Lawyers for Rumble and Trump Media said they attempted to formally notify Moraes through the Hague Convention, an international treaty used for judicial communications between countries.
According to them, the procedure did not move forward because Brazilian authorities had made the process difficult.
As a result, companies requested exceptional authorization to use electronic citation.
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The American court accepted the argument based on recent understandings by the Florida Court regarding international notifications by e-mail.
What happens now?
Rumble and Trump Media will have 30 days to formally forward the summons to the email addresses linked to Moraes’ office and prove that it has been sent to the American courts. After that, the deadline for expressing the defense begins.
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If Moraes does not respond or ask for an extension, companies will be able to request the so-called “registration by default”.
What does default judgment mean?
Default allows the process to continue without the participation of the defense.
In practice, this does not represent an automatic conviction or immediate decision against Moraes. The mechanism only prevents the lack of response from paralyzing the action.
Even in the case of default, the American courts would still need to analyze the merits of the accusations made by the companies.
