Eduardo Bolsonaro Sentenced in Absentia
Brazil's highest court has found Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, guilty of attempting to secure U.S. intervention during his father's trial last year. The 41-year-old was accused of lobbying U.S. authorities to impose tariffs or sanctions on Brazil to aid his father's legal situation.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, a former Brazilian congressman, relocated to the United States in 2025. His father, who served as president from January 2019 to December 2022, was later convicted of plotting a military coup and received a 27-year prison sentence.
Response to the Conviction
On Tuesday, Eduardo Bolsonaro took to social media to denounce the conviction, calling it “baseless and senseless.” He asserted that the justices' motive was to prevent him from participating in future elections. He also claimed a lack of due process in his case, stating he was never formally served and only learned of the proceedings through media reports.
Brazil's Supreme Court sentenced him in absentia to four years and two months in prison. Bolsonaro previously informed the BBC that he was living in “exile” due to fears of arrest if he returned to Brazil.
Alleged U.S. Involvement and Reactions
Eduardo Bolsonaro has publicly sought support for his father from the Trump administration, which characterized the case against the former Brazilian president as a “witch hunt.” Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who views Jair Bolsonaro as an ally, imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil last July. Current Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva described this move as “not only misguided but illogical.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly pledged that Washington would respond to Bolsonaro's conviction. The Trump administration had previously sanctioned Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on July 30, alleging abuses related to his handling of Bolsonaro-related cases. Lula stated Brazil's willingness to negotiate with the U.S. on trade but deemed the sanctions against de Moraes an “unacceptable” interference in Brazil's judicial system. These sanctions have since been lifted.
During Trump's first term, the U.S. president and former Brazilian president Bolsonaro enjoyed a friendly relationship when their presidencies overlapped, and the two had met at the White House in 2019. Both men subsequently lost presidential elections and both refused to publicly acknowledge defeat. The elder Bolsonaro was convicted over a plot to overturn his 2022 election defeat. The case was tied to a wider effort to keep him in power, including the January 2023 storming of government buildings in Brasilia by his supporters. “This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a Political Opponent - Something I know much about!” Trump said at the time. In response, Bolsonaro thanked the US president for his support.
Source: Brazil convicts Jair Bolsonaro's son of pursuing US help in father's legal battle