X owner Elon Musk slammed Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes as an “evil dictator” Thursday as he threatened to shut down the billionaire’s social media platform in the country.
“Alexandre de Moraes is an evil dictator cosplaying as a judge,” Musk said in a post on X.
The months-long feud between Musk and de Moraes reached a fever pitch Wednesday night when the judge ordered X to name a legal representative in Brazil within 24 hours or face a ban.
The platform was still working normally in the country shortly before midnight Thursday, according to Reuters.
“Soon, we expect Judge Alexandre de Moraes will order X to be shut down in Brazil – simply because we would not comply with his illegal orders to censor his political opponents,” X’s Global Government Affairs team said in a post.
X closed its office in Brazil earlier this month after de Moraes ordered the platform to remove posts from the site. If X failed to comply, the judge said he would levy a daily fine of $3,650 and an arrest decree against its representative, Rachel Nova Conceicao.
“We are absolutely not insisting that other countries have the same free speech laws as the United States,” the Global Government Affairs team added Thursday. “The fundamental issue at stake here is that Judge de Moraes demands we break Brazil’s own laws. We simply won’t do that.”
“Unlike other social media and technology platforms, we will not comply in secret with illegal orders,” it continued. “To our users in Brazil and around the world, X remains committed to protecting your freedom of speech.”
Musk previously challenged an order from de Moraes in April ordering the platform to block certain accounts in the country and vowed to reverse the restrictions. However, X ultimately said it would comply with the rulings.
Starlink, Musk’s satellite company, also revealed Thursday that de Moraes had frozen its finances and was blocking the firm from conducting financial transactions in Brazil.
“This order is based on an unfounded determination that Starlink should be responsible for the fines levied—unconstitutionally—against X,” Starlink said in a post. “It was issued in secret and without affording Starlink any of the due process of law guaranteed by the Constitution of Brazil. We intend to address the matter legally.”