Elon Musk is taking aim at the Democratic Party after Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison appeared to celebrate Brazil’s recent ban of X (formerly known as Twitter). The ban was ordered by Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, following the platform’s failure to comply with legal demands. Musk, the CEO of X, responded to Ellison’s Labor Day post, where the attorney general seemed to cheer the ban by writing “Thank you Brazil!” in Portuguese.
Musk fired back at Ellison on social media, accusing the Democratic Party of abandoning its once-strong defense of free speech. “The Democratic Party – same one that used to defend the First Amendment – now wants to destroy the First Amendment,” Musk posted, signaling his frustration with the left’s support for the censorship in Brazil.
The Democratic Party – same one that used to defend the First Amendment –now wants to destroy the First Amendment https://t.co/36KAhzA0la
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 3, 2024
Ellison’s comments drew widespread criticism from conservatives, who blasted the Minnesota attorney general for siding with an authoritarian crackdown on free expression. Mollie Hemingway, editor-in-chief of The Federalist, called out Ellison, writing, “Tim Walz’s attorney general in Minnesota — Keith Ellison — thanks Brasil for crushing free speech platform X.” Conservative strategist Steve Guest echoed the sentiment, labeling Ellison an “enemy of free speech.”
The conflict between Brazil’s government and X erupted after Justice de Moraes ruled that the platform had failed to comply with court orders to appoint a legal representative for the country and to suspend certain accounts.
Musk and his team at X refused to comply, arguing that de Moraes’ requests violated Brazilian law, despite de Moraes’ accusation that Musk demonstrated “total disrespect for Brazilian sovereignty.”
X’s Global Government Affairs team doubled down, clarifying that while they weren’t insisting other nations adopt U.S. free speech laws, de Moraes’ demands were contrary to Brazilian law itself. “We simply won’t do that,” they said in a statement, maintaining that they are legally challenging the orders when possible.
The tensions escalated further when de Moraes threatened hefty fines—up to $9,000 per day—for anyone attempting to bypass the platform’s ban via a VPN. On Monday, the Brazilian Supreme Court upheld the suspension, with Justice Flavio Dino reinforcing the court’s decision, stating that X “seems to believe it’s above the law.”
This isn’t the first time de Moraes and Musk have clashed. Earlier in the year, de Moraes ordered X to censor certain accounts, which Musk flatly refused to do. At the time, X responded by defending the rights of the Brazilian people to free speech and transparency under their own laws, pledging to continue fighting de Moraes’ censorship efforts legally.
