Brazil’s Supreme Court has found former lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro guilty of coercion. This verdict is linked to the case that sentenced his father, ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, to 27 years in prison for attempting a coup. Eduardo Bolsonaro received a sentence of four years and two months.
All five justices involved agreed that he unlawfully lobbied the U.S. government to apply pressure on Brazilian officials to halt the trial. Justice Alexandre de Moraes stated that a federal lawmaker’s role is not to oppose his own nation abroad. De Moraes, who oversaw the elder Bolsonaro’s coup case, and his wife faced sanctions from the U.S. government in July the previous year.
Eduardo Bolsonaro’s legal team argued that there was insufficient evidence for a conviction. He has resided in Texas since February 2025. The U.S. President at the time, Donald Trump, imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil as a protest against Jair Bolsonaro’s prosecution for attempting to overturn his loss to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022.
Though relations between Trump and Lula improved temporarily following Lula’s May visit to the White House, the U.S. proposed a 25% tariff on Brazilian imports in June, citing unfair trade practices. Lula argued in Washington that the U.S. has a trade surplus with Brazil by presenting relevant documents.
Eduardo Bolsonaro has not commented on the court’s ruling. Meanwhile, he is involved in campaigning for his brother, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who plans to challenge Lula in the upcoming October elections despite recent controversies involving a transaction with a disgraced banker.
Both Eduardo and Flávio Bolsonaro recently met with U.S. officials in Washington, including Trump.
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