SAO PAULO – In a landmark ruling that deepens Brazil’s ongoing political upheaval stemming from the 2022 presidential election crisis, Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has found former federal lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, guilty of criminal coercion linked to the high-profile 2024 coup attempt trial that ended with his father receiving a 27-year prison sentence. On Tuesday, the court handed down a sentence of four years and two months of imprisonment to the younger Bolsonaro, with all five justices on the ruling panel unanimously agreeing that he engaged in illegal interference by lobbying the U.S. government to pressure Brazilian judicial officials into halting the trial against his father.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the same magistrate who led the previous coup case against the former president, emphasized in his ruling that Eduardo Bolsonaro’s position as a sitting federal legislator “is not to lobby overseas against his own country.” This ruling comes against a backdrop of pre-existing tensions: de Moraes and his spouse were targeted with U.S. government sanctions back in July 2024.
Legal representatives for Eduardo Bolsonaro have rejected the guilty verdict outright, arguing that prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence to support the conviction. Notably, the former lawmaker has resided in Texas, United States, since February 2025, and has not issued any public statement regarding the Supreme Court’s decision.
Beyond the domestic political fallout, this conviction intersects with shifting trade and diplomatic dynamics between Brazil and the U.S. under current U.S. President Donald Trump. Last year, Trump imposed a steep 50% tariff on Brazilian goods in direct response to the prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted of orchestrating a coup to overturn his 2022 electoral loss to current Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Diplomatic relations appeared to thaw briefly in early May 2025, when Lula traveled to Washington for a White House meeting with Trump, and the Brazilian leader told reporters he shared official documentation during the visit proving the U.S. actually maintains a trade surplus with Brazil. That detente proved short-lived, however: in June 2025, the U.S. administration unveiled a new proposal for 25% tariffs on Brazilian imports, repeating unsubstantiated claims that Brazil, the world’s 10th largest economy, engages in unfair trade practices.
The legal ruling also lands ahead of Brazil’s upcoming October general election, where Jair Bolsonaro’s elder son, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, is positioned as the leading opposition challenger to incumbent Lula. Eduardo Bolsonaro is currently campaigning on behalf of his brother’s candidacy, which has recently been rocked by a corruption scandal tied to an improper payment to a disgraced former banker. Just weeks before the conviction, Eduardo and Flávio Bolsonaro traveled to Washington to meet with senior U.S. officials, including former president and current incumbent Trump.