The trial of the far-right leader is receiving renewed attention after U.S. President Donald Trump directly tied a 50% tariff on imported Brazilian goods to his ally's judicial situation.

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.

The ruling comes a month after Brazil’s top court ordered the former president to wear an ankle monitor, submit to a curfew and abide by limitations on his activity as legal proceedings investigating an alleged coup plot continue.