On Monday, officials with the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil upheld a measure which bans Brazilians from using X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Should Brazilians continue to use the social media platform, they could be fined more than 50,000 Brazilian reais, equivalent to roughly $8,900. As such, citizens from South America’s largest country will no longer be able to use one of the most popular social media platforms in the world to express their views.
X was first banned in Brazil on Friday after a ruling from Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Since then, Elon Musk, the owner and chairman of X, has repeatedly denounced the ban as an attack on free speech. Musk has also condemned Moraes as a “dictator” and “Brazil’s Voldemort.”
On the same day Brazil’s ban on X was upheld, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison posted on X, saying, “obrigado Brasil!” The phrase is Portuguese, Brazil’s national language, for “Thank you Brazil!” or “Thanks Brazil!”
Ellison’s message came just hours after the ban on X was upheld.
Alpha News reached out to the attorney general’s office to inquire about why Ellison posted the thank you message. Additionally, Ellison’s office was asked if the attorney general believes X should be banned in the United States. However, the office did not respond to a media inquiry.
Since his thank you message to Brazil, Ellison has been roundly criticized by many.
Responding to a post about Ellison’s thank you message, Musk himself said: “The Democratic Party–same one that used to defend the First Amendment–now wants to destroy the First Amendment.”
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
Public figures in Minnesota also responded to Ellison’s post. Among them, Jim Schultz, the Republican nominee for Minnesota attorney general in 2022, said Ellison was “cheering on the suppression of free speech in another country.”
Minnesota State Rep. Walter Hudson, R-Albertville, called out the attorney general, saying, “Ellison has sworn an oath to our state and federal constitutions, both of which uphold rights he is thanking a foreign country for suppressing.”
Minnesota political strategist and commentator Dustin Grage responded to Ellison’s thank you message with a short phrase: “commies being commies.”
Alpha News also reached out to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s team to ask about the Democratic vice presidential nominee’s reaction to the post from Ellison. However, the Walz team did not respond.
Luke Sprinkel
Luke Sprinkel previously worked as a Legislative Assistant at the Minnesota House of Representatives. He grew up as a Missionary Kid (MK) living in England, Thailand, Tanzania, and the Middle East. Luke graduated from Regent University in 2018.
