Elon Musk said on Monday that the Democratic Party was attempting to destroy free speech after leftist Minnesota Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison appeared to celebrate the ban of X, previously known as Twitter, in Brazil.
On Labor Day, Ellison posted a message in Portuguese translated to “Thank you Brazil!” as the country blocked X at the orders of Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. De Moraes ruled that the social media company did not comply with his orders revolving around appointing a legal representative for the country or suspending several accounts. De Moraes said that Musk had “total disrespect for Brazilian sovereignty.”
Musk, the CTO and executive chairman of X, ripped into Ellison over his apparent support for the block.
“The Democratic Party – same one that used to defend the First Amendment –now wants to destroy the First Amendment,” Musk posted.
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
Other conservatives also ripped into Ellison over his post.
“Tim Walz’s attorney general in Minnesota — Keith Ellison — thanks Brasil for crushing free speech platform X,” wrote Federalist editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway.
“Tim Walz’s Attorney General, Keith Ellison, Celebrates Brazil Banning X,” said conservative communicator Steve Guest. “Take note: Keith Ellison is a ENEMY of free speech.”
In his decision last week, de Moraes said that X must be restricted in Brazil because the company refused to comply with several court orders. He also said that people who try to access the platform through other means, like a VPN, could face daily fines of nearly $9,000.
X’s Global Government Affairs argued that de Moraes’ requests violated Brazilian law.
“We are absolutely not insisting that other countries have the same free speech laws as the United States. The fundamental issue at stake here is that Judge de Moraes demands we break Brazil’s own laws. We simply won’t do that,” it said in a statement.
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The decision to suspend access to X was upheld on Monday by a panel of judges on the Brazilian Supreme Court.
“Economic power and the size of a bank account do not give rise to outlandish immunity,” said Justice Flavio Dino, saying that X “seems to believe it’s above the law.”
De Moraes has long clashed with X, ordering the social media company earlier this year to censor certain X accounts, which Musk refused to do.
“We believe that such orders are not in accordance with the Marco Civil da Internet or the Brazilian Federal Constitution, and we challenge the orders legally where possible,” the company said at the time. “The people of Brazil, regardless of their political beliefs, are entitled to freedom of speech, due process, and transparency from their own authorities.”
