Former federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro was sentenced, this Tuesday, to four years and two months in prison in a semi-open regime (non-existent in Portugal) by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) of Brazil for coercing the Court’s judges.
In a unanimous decision, the First Panel of the STF found Eduardo Bolsonaro guilty of the crime of coercion during the processconcluding that he acted, in the United States, to pressure the judiciary to suspend the process taking place against his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, then accused of an attempted coup d’état.
Eduardo Bolsonaro’s defense can still file a motion for clarification before the ruling becomes final, but it is not possible to appeal the decision to a higher court, since he was convicted by the STF.
The judges of the First Panel of the STF, Cristiano Zanin, Cármen Lúcia and Flávio Dino, followed the vote of rapporteur Alexandre de Moraes, who defended that Eduardo be removed from the public position of clerk of the Federal Police and that he be ineligible for a period of eight years.
The son of the former president of Brazil will also have to pay a 50-day fine, totaling more than 162 thousand reais (around 27,300 euros at the current exchange rate).
In his vote, Alexandre de Moraes followed the understanding of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) of Brazil, which considered that Eduardo acted to embarrass STF judges and interfere in the course of justice.
According to the accusation, Eduardo made public statements and publications on social media in which he claimed to have collaborated so that the Government of donald trumpPresident of the United States, imposed sanctions on Brazilian authorities.
When casting his vote, Moraes declared that Eduardo Bolsonaro, who lost his mandate by decision of the Chamber of Deputies last year due to absences, made lobby in the United States.
“It is not the role of a Brazilian federal deputy to lobby abroad against one’s own country. Even if he were exercising his mandate, and not licensed, he would not be covered by parliamentary immunity”, declared Alexandre de Moraes.
In March 2025, Eduardo announced that he would temporarily suspend his parliamentary mandate to live in the United States. At the time, he claimed to be the target of political and judicial persecution and said that leaving Brazil would be to “dedicate himself fully and seek appropriate sanctions against human rights violators”.
Alexandre de Moraes indicated that Eduardo’s threats “came true”, including against Brazil itself, with the increase in tariffs imposed by the United States on Brazilian products, with the “intent of benefiting his own father”.
