WhatsApp Judge Wins Little Love In Brazil, But Respect In His Hometown

Judge Marcel Montalvão joined some of Brazil's top politicians as one of the country's most-hated public figures when he ordered a 72-hour shutdown of WhatsApp this week, abruptly cutting off the messaging service for some 100 million users.

But none of the young women staring at their cell phones and tapping away on the now-restored WhatsApp in a patch of shade outside Montalvão's courthouse in the small city of Lagarto were among the haters.