Brazil’s Supreme Court on Monday ordered the house arrest for the country's former President Jair Bolsonaro, on trial for allegedly masterminding a coup plot to remain in office despite his defeat in the 2022 election — a case that has gripped the South American country as it faces a trade war with the Trump administration.

The US State Department has condemned a Brazilian Supreme Court order for the house arrest of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial over an alleged plot to overturn the results of the 2022 presidential election.

Brazil's Supreme Court was caught off-guard by Justice Alexandre de Moraes' decision late on Monday to place former President Jair Bolsonaro under house arrest, two sources at the court told Reuters on Tuesday.