BRASILIA: Brazil’s Supreme Court has sentenced former lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro to four years and two months in prison after finding him guilty of coercion and attempting to influence judicial proceedings through a lobbying campaign in the United States.
The unanimous ruling also imposes an eight-year ban on holding public office, effectively removing the son of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro from electoral politics for the foreseeable future.
According to the court, Eduardo Bolsonaro traveled to the United States in early 2025 and sought support from the administration of US President Donald Trump to pressure Brazilian authorities. Prosecutors argued that he urged Washington to impose economic measures and sanctions against Brazilian judges involved in investigations concerning his father.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who presided over the case, said a legislator’s role does not include lobbying foreign governments against their own country. The court concluded that Eduardo Bolsonaro’s actions amounted to an attempt to interfere with ongoing judicial proceedings and undermine Brazil’s legal institutions.
The ruling was based on evidence that included public statements, interviews and videos in which the former congressman discussed his efforts abroad. In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered him to pay a fine equivalent to 100 minimum wages.
Eduardo Bolsonaro has been living in the United States since February 2025 and did not attend the hearing in Brasília. In a written response, he rejected the verdict, claiming he had not been properly notified of the proceedings and describing the case as politically motivated.
Meanwhile, Jair Bolsonaro remains under house arrest while serving a 27-year sentence related to an alleged coup plot following his defeat in Brazil’s 2022 presidential election.
The verdict marks another significant development in Brazil’s ongoing efforts to address political unrest and challenges to democratic institutions.