Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is drawing ire from conservatives and Elon Musk himself after putting out a message appearing to celebrate Brazil banning the social media platform X.
Musk has been embroiled in a battle of “free speech” around X, a platform that he owns, and says this post from Ellison has revealed the Democratic party as being enemies of free expression.
Brazil Case
A recent ruling in the Supreme Court of Brazil determined that a ban on the social media platform X in the country would be upheld.
The ban comes as a response to Musk’s refusal to comply with an order by Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to appoint legal representation in the country within 24 hours.
Bedrock of Democracy
In response to the decision by the court, Musk published an X post on August 30 declaring that the Brazilian judge is trying to destroy democracy.
“Free speech is the bedrock of democracy and an unelected pseudo-judge in Brazil is destroying it for political purpose,” Musk wrote.
What Started the Dispute?
In April, Musk and the government of Brazil started a feud after an X representative was forced to take down popular accounts in the country over concerns of “misinformation.”
“X Corp. has been forced by court decisions to block certain popular accounts in Brazil. We have informed those accounts that we have taken this action,” said the post. “We believe that such orders are not in accordance with the Marco Civil da Internet or the Brazilian Federal Constitution, and we challenge the orders legally where possible.”
Escalating Feud
In response to the court orders from Brazil, Musk then announced that it would be dropping the imposed restrictions.
X then removed all its staff from the country as part of the ongoing dispute. Musk also called for Judge Moraeas to be impeached or resign.
New Ruling
On Friday, the Supreme Court of Brazil announced the total suspension of X in the country.
“Elon Musk showed his total disrespect for Brazilian sovereignty and, in particular, for the judiciary, setting himself up as a true supranational entity and immune to the laws of each country,” the AP quoted Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes as saying Friday in his ruling.
Consequences for X
After failing to comply with court demands, Brazil started banning X on Saturday and instituted a penalty for anyone trying to get around the ban through a VPN service.
Reportedly, the court instituted a fine of $9,000 per day to anyone trying to use a VPN to access the social media platform.
VPN Surge
Musk has promoted the use of VPNs to get around the ban in Brazil, South America’s largest country.
Despite the threat of fines against violators, VPN usage in Brazil has reportedly surged 1,600% according to VpnMentor.
Keith Ellison’s Post
Minnesota AG Keith Ellison, who serves alongside state Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz, published an X post appearing to celebrate the ban of X in Brazil.
Ellison posted “Obrigado Brasil!” in a September 2 X post, which translates to “Thank you Brazil!”
Catching Fire
Ellison’s post received over 3 million views, and a screencap of his post by another X user was seen over 4 million times.
“Former Deputy Chair of the Democratic National Committee Keith Ellison thanks the Tyrants of Brazil for banning X. The Party of Censorship,” said the X post.
Musk Fires Back
Musk responded to this screencaped post, accusing the Democratic Party of trying to destroy free speech.
“The Democratic Party – same one that used to defend the First Amendment –now wants to destroy the First Amendment,” wrote Musk in a September 3 X post.
Tying it to Walz
In the immediate aftermath of Ellison’s post, critics rushed to tie the statement to Tim Walz and the current Democratic ticket for president.
“Tim Walz’s Attorney General is celebrating blocking free speech in Brazil. You think these ideas just fell from a coconut tree?” wrote X user Dustin Grage. “The funniest part about Keith Ellison celebrating censorship is that he did so on the platform that Brazil banned. You can’t make this stuff up,” Grage wrote in a separate post.
