Bolsonaro requests impeachment of Supreme Court justice

President Jair Bolsonaro presented an impeachment request against Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Friday evening — yet another unprecedented and worrying move during a presidency filled with unprecedented and worrying moves. 

Last Saturday, Mr. Bolsonaro had told supporters he would request that the Senate impeach both Justice Moraes and Justice Luís Roberto Barroso — whom the president accuses of “eroding the pillars of democratic rule of law” and of “curtailing freedom of speech.” In the end, only Justice Moraes was targeted.

The episode is yet another escalation of tensions between Mr. Bolsonaro and the highest court in the land — a feud that started shortly after the president’s inauguration in January 2019, but which has intensified in recent weeks and months. 

Rattled by negative polling numbers, Mr. Bolsonaro has tried to galvanize his base by lashing out at democratic institutions. He has challenged the legitimacy of the country’s electronic voting system — which has never seen credible fraud allegations — and accuses the Supreme Court of breaching the Constitution with attacks against conservatives’ freedom of speech.

A bonafide conservative Justice, Alexandre de Moraes has become Mr. Bolsonaro’s nemesis after being assigned to multiple cases which could impact — directly or indirectly — Jair Bolsonaro and his allies. These include a criminal...