Brazil's Supreme Court convicts Eduardo Bolsonaro for seeking US support amid judicial prosecution of his father

The First Chamber of Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court voted on Tuesday to convict Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, on charges of having sought the intervention of U.S. authorities in the legal proceedings facing his family.

The ruling, adopted unanimously by the four justices comprising the judicial panel, criticizes the conservative leader for seeking external support in the wake of the trial that resulted in the disqualification and sentencing of his father last year.

The ruling was announced on June 16, determining that the lawmaker’s diplomatic efforts constituted undue interference. The sentence could range from one to four years in prison.

Exile in Washington and U.S. countermeasures

Eduardo Bolsonaro, 41, had settled in the U.S. capital in late February 2025. The lawmaker justified his departure from Brazil citing the imminence of a court-ordered travel ban intended to strip him of his rights to free movement within the local political arena.

During his stay in the United States, the leader strengthened ties with President Donald Trump’s administration, highlighting what broad sectors of the opposition consider a politicization of the judicial system under the administration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

As an institutional response to these allegations, the White House imposed sanctions on Brazilian judges and applied tariffs on imports from the South American country, arguing that the proceedings against the conservative opposition lacked due process.

Continued pressure against the conservative leadership

The State Attorney General’s Office argued that Eduardo Bolsonaro’s requests sought to force a reversal of the court’s decision through economic coercion and foreign policy pressure. 

This new criminal ruling comes on top of the sentence handed down last September against former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison on charges of conspiracy.

For his part, the defendant’s brother and current presidential candidate, Flávio Bolsonaro, did not appear at the trial hearings and was therefore represented pro bono by the National Public Defender’s Office. The case remains open due to potential diplomatic repercussions on hemispheric relations.

This is a developing story.