Brazil’s Supreme Court convicts Eduardo Bolsonaro for US lobbying in father’s coup trial, sentences him to 4 years and 2 months

Verdict

Brazil’s Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF) convicted former federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro on 16 June 2026, finding him guilty of coercion in the course of judicial proceedings. The unanimous decision by the court’s First Panel imposes a prison sentence of four years and two months, to be served initially in a semi-open regime. Additionally, the court fined him approximately €30,000 and barred him from seeking public office for eight years, a period that some outlets, including the Frankfurter Allgemeine, reported as up to twelve years. The ruling also strips Eduardo Bolsonaro of his status as a federal police officer.

“It is not the function of a federal deputy to lobby abroad against their own country.”

US lobbying and charges

According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, Eduardo Bolsonaro – who moved to the United States in February 2025 – actively coordinated with members of the Trump administration to pressure Brazilian judges handling his father’s case. He allegedly pushed for financial sanctions against Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and for tariffs on Brazilian goods. The US government subsequently imposed 40% tariffs on Brazilian products in 2025 and levied sanctions on Justice Moraes, citing a "witch hunt" against Jair Bolsonaro. Those measures were largely reversed after a meeting between President Donald Trump and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in October 2025.

“The conviction seems clearly revenge against Eduardo … we are no longer living in a full democracy.”

Political and family reaction

Eduardo Bolsonaro’s brother, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro – the main opposition candidate for the October 2026 presidential election – called the ruling “pure revenge” and a “personal matter” of the judges, arguing that the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction because Eduardo was no longer a lawmaker at the time of the charge. Eduardo himself, who was planning to run as a substitute for a Senate seat, denounced the trial as politically motivated. “The real objective of this senseless trial is only one: to remove my name from the elections,” he wrote on social media. His defence announced it will appeal and argued that his actions constituted legitimate political activity.

Broader context

The conviction deepens the legal troubles of the Bolsonaro family. Jair Bolsonaro, who governed from 2019 to 2022, was sentenced in September 2025 to 27 years in prison for leading a criminal organisation that plotted to overturn his 2022 election loss to Lula. He is currently serving his sentence under humanitarian house arrest after suffering pneumonia. Eduardo Bolsonaro’s US lobbying effort was partially funded by money sent by his father, leading the court to freeze his bank accounts and assets in July 2025. The family remains a dominant force on Brazil’s right, and the verdict is expected to reverberate through the October presidential campaign.

“The real objective of this senseless trial is only one: to remove my name from the elections.”