Brazil's Supreme Court on Monday ordered the house arrest for 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.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the case against Bolsonaro before the top court, said in his decision that the 70-year-old former president had violated precautionary measures imposed on him by spreading content through his three lawmaker sons.

Bolsonaro's lawyers said in a statement that he will appeal the decision. They said his words "good afternoon, Copacabana, good afternoon my Brazil, a hug to everyone, this is for our freedom" -- broadcast from a cell phone of one of his sons during a Sunday protest in Rio de Janeiro -- cannot "be regarded as ignoring precautionary measures or as a criminal act".