Brazil's Supreme Court sentences Eduardo Bolsonaro to prison for US lobbying

Brazil's Supreme Court sentenced former lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro to four years and two months in prison on Tuesday after convicting him in connection with efforts to seek U.S. action regarding his father's trial. The court found he had lobbied U.S. officials to impose sanctions on Brazilian judges and tariffs on Brazilian goods.

The conviction came from a panel of the Supreme Court. All five justices considering the case agreed he had illegaly interfered by lobbying the U.S. government to threaten Brazilian officials to stop the trial.

Lawyers for Eduardo Bolsonaro disputed the verdict, saying there was not enough evidence to convict him. The former lawmaker has lived in Texas since February 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump slapped Brazil with a 50% tariff last year in protest of Jair Bolsonaro’s prosecution for trying to overturn his electoral defeat to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022.

Trump’s relations with Lula seem to have improved in early May, when the Brazilian leader visited the White House, but then in June the U.S. government once again proposed 25% tariffs on imports from Brazil, claiming the world’s 10th-biggest economy engages in unreasonable trade practices.

Lula said that during his visit to Washington in early May, he handed Trump documents showing that the U.S. has a trade surplus with Brazil.

Eduardo Bolsonaro did not make comments about the Supreme Court’s decision. He is campaigning for his brother Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, who is expected to challenge Lula in October’s elections although his candidacy has faced a recent scandal related to a payment to a disreed banker. Eduardo and Flávio Bolsonaro recently visited U.S. officials in Washington, including Trump.