Brazil Supreme Court Convicts Bolsonaro's Son of Seeking U.S. Interference in Father's Trial
BRASILIA, June 16 (Reuters) — A panel of Brazil's Supreme Court voted unanimously on Tuesday to convict Eduardo Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, for actively courting U.S. intervention in his father's trial over an alleged coup plot last year.
The court's four justices each backed the conviction and were expected to announce the sentence later in the day. The decision marks the first time the top court has penalized a close relative of a former president for seeking foreign leverage in a domestic legal proceeding.
Brazil's Prosecutor General had accused Eduardo Bolsonaro, a former federal lawmaker, of urging U.S. officials to impose sanctions on the Supreme Court justices and tariffs on Brazilian goods in an effort to derail his father's prosecution. Although both the sanctions and tariffs were later scaled back, prosecutors argued that the mere attempt constituted an illegal interference with the judiciary.
The younger Bolsonaro moved to the United States in 2025, months before the trial that convicted his father, a right-wing former president, of plotting a coup to overturn the 2022 election results. Since arriving in the U.S., he has worked to rally support from conservative circles, including members of the Trump administration, publicly framing his father's case as politically motivated.
In a statement following the conviction, Eduardo Bolsonaro claimed he had not been properly notified of the court's legal proceedings, a procedural objection his legal team is expected to raise in an appeal. He has previously told Reuters that his activities in the U.S. were not aimed at securing acquittal for his father but rather at pressuring the Brazilian Supreme Court to punish officials he accuses of violating the constitution.
The ruling adds a fresh layer of drama to Brazil's ongoing political turmoil. Analysts say it could further strain U.S.-Brazil relations, especially if Eduardo Bolsonaro continues to lobby Washington for intervention. It also underscores the Brazilian judiciary's determination to enforce its authority and resist external influence, even as critics warn the conviction risks being seen by Bolsonaro supporters as judicial overreach.