Brazil’s Supreme Court has convicted Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of jailed former President Jair Bolsonaro, of pursuing U.S. intervention during his father’s coup trial last year. The conviction centers on Eduardo’s efforts to lobby U.S. authorities to support his father through measures like tariffs or sanctions.

Background and Charges

Eduardo Bolsonaro. 41, a former Brazilian congressman, relocated to the U.S. in 2025, a move that came just before his father was found guilty of plotting a military coup and received a 27-year prison sentence. The court charged Eduardo with lobbying the U.S. government for help in his father’s case, which included requesting the imposition of sanctions on Brazil.

The younger Bolsonaro publicly criticized the conviction on social media, calling it “baseless and senseless” and claiming that the justices aimed to prevent him from running for office. He also argued that the legal process lacked due process, as he was never formally served and only learned about the case through media reports.

Legal Proceedings and Reactions

Brazil’s Supreme Court sentenced Eduardo Bolsonaro in absentia to four years and two months in prison — Eduardo previously told the BBC that he was living in “exile” due to fears of arrest if he returned to Brazil. He has also lobbied for support for his father from the Trump administration, which referred to the case against Jair Bolsonaro as a “witch hunt.”

U.S. President Donald Trump. Who views the right-wing Bolsonaro as an ally, imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil last July. Current Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva described the move as “not only misguided but illogical.” The Trump administration also sanctioned Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on July 30, accusing him of abuses related to Bolsonaro cases. However, the U.S. has since withdrawn these sanctions.

Broader Political Context

During Trump’s first term, the U.S. president and former Brazilian president Bolsonaro maintained a friendly relationship, meeting at the White House in 2019 — Both men later lost their respective presidential elections and refused to acknowledge their defeats.

Jair Bolsonaro was convicted for plotting to overturn his 2022 election defeat, a case tied to a broader effort to maintain power, including the January 2023 storming of government buildings in Brasilia by his supporters. Trump responded by calling the case an “attack on a Political Opponent,” to which Bolsonaro expressed gratitude for the support.

In a separate development. The Brazilian Supreme Court ordered the freezing of Eduardo Bolsonaro’s bank accounts and assets in March, alleging that the funds were used to support lobbying efforts in the U.S. for his father’s case. Eduardo Bolsonaro stated that his work in the U.S. aimed to pressure the Brazilian Supreme Court to address what he considers constitutional violations, not to secure an acquittal for his father.

Jair Bolsonaro’s legal team recently secured a temporary house arrest for the former president due to health issues, including pneumonia and complications from a 2018 knife attack. The move allows him to be under house arrest for three months for humanitarian reasons.