BRAZIL’S Supreme Court has ordered that former president Jair Bolsonaro be placed under house arrest.

The far-right politician is on trial for allegedly masterminding a coup attempt in the wake of his 2022 election defeat.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the case, said in his decision on Monday that the 70-year-old had violated precautionary measures imposed on him by spreading content through his three sons.

In a statement, Mr Bolsonaro’s lawyers said he would appeal against the court's order.

They claimed that his words “good afternoon, Copacabana, good afternoon my Brazil, a hug to everyone, this is for our freedom” — broadcast from the phone of one of his sons during a protest in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday — could not “be regarded as ignoring precautionary measures or as a criminal act.”

The trial has received renewed attention in the United States after President Donald Trump directly tied a 50 per cent tariff on imports from Brazil to his ally’s judicial situation.