Brazilian Supreme Court Convicts Jair Bolsonaro's Son for US Intervention Lobbying
Brazil's Supreme Court has convicted Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of the jailed former President Jair Bolsonaro, for actively seeking US intervention during his father's coup trial last year. Mr Bolsonaro, 41, was charged with lobbying US authorities to impose tariffs or sanctions on Brazil in an effort to aid his father's legal predicament.
Mr Bolsonaro relocated to the US in 2025, prior to his father's conviction for plotting a military coup, which resulted in a 27-year sentence. Writing on social media following the verdict, Eduardo Bolsonaro denounced the conviction as "baseless and senseless", alleging that the justices intended to prevent his future electoral participation. He also claimed a lack of due process, stating he was never formally served and only learned of the case through media reports.
The Supreme Court handed down a sentence of four years and two months in prison in absentia. Mr Bolsonaro has previously described his residency in the US as "exile", citing fears of arrest should he return to Brazil. He has openly sought support for his father from the Trump administration, which characterised the case against the former Brazilian president as a "witch hunt".
US President Donald Trump, who views the right-wing Bolsonaro as an ally, imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil last July. This move was labelled "not only misguided but illogical" by Brazil's current President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Subsequently, then-US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged a Washington response to Bolsonaro's conviction. The Trump administration had already sanctioned Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on 30 July, citing abuses in his handling of Bolsonaro-related cases. President Lula declared Brazil open to trade negotiations with the US but deemed sanctions targeting Justice de Moraes "unacceptable" interference in the nation's justice system. The US has since rescinded these sanctions.
During their overlapping presidencies, Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro cultivated a close relationship, meeting at the White House in 2019. Both leaders subsequently lost presidential elections and publicly resisted acknowledging their defeats. The elder Bolsonaro's conviction stemmed from a plot to overturn his 2022 election loss, part of a broader scheme to maintain power, including the January 2023 storming of government buildings in Brasilia by his supporters. Mr Trump commented at the time: "This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a Political Opponent - Something I know much about!" Bolsonaro responded by thanking the US President for his support.
