Eduardo Bolsonaro to Face Trial: Supreme Court Panel Alleges U.S. Pressure Campaign to Influence Jair Bolsonaro Case

Eduardo Bolsonaro to Face Trial on Obstruction Charges

A majority of a five-judge panel at Brazil's Supreme Court has voted to send Eduardo Bolsonaro—son of former president Jair Bolsonaro—to trial on charges of obstruction of justice. On Friday, three justices accepted a prosecutor's indictment alleging Eduardo used threats and foreign pressure to interfere with the criminal case against his father. The panel's vote clears the way for a trial in absentia if prosecutors pursue the charge.

In September the Supreme Court sentenced Jair Bolsonaro, who governed Brazil from 2019 to 2023, to more than 27 years in prison after finding he plotted to overturn the 2022 election results. Eduardo Bolsonaro, an elected member of the Chamber of Deputies, has been one of his father's most vocal defenders throughout those legal battles.

Prosecutors say Eduardo travelled repeatedly to the United States after the 2022 election to lobby U.S. officials, including meetings with former President Donald Trump and Republican allies, in an effort they allege was intended to pressure Brazil’s judiciary and political leaders to drop or undermine the case against Jair Bolsonaro. In March he announced plans to relocate to the U.S. to devote himself full-time to advocating for his father.

"There is significant evidence that Eduardo Nantes Bolsonaro's actions aimed to create an environment of institutional and social instability, applying increasing sanctions to Brazilian authorities and causing economic harm to Brazil," wrote Justice Alexandre de Moraes in his opinion.

Justices Alexandre de Moraes, Flavio Dino and Cristiano Zanin joined the majority in voting to allow the trial to proceed. Voting on the panel remains open until November 25.

The indictment points to a sequence of actions by the U.S. administration this year—public warnings from former President Trump, an executive order labeling Brazil's actions an "unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. interests, high tariffs on Brazilian exports, and sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act that targeted Justice de Moraes and later his wife. Prosecutors are investigating whether Eduardo lobbied for or otherwise encouraged those measures to influence the Brazilian proceedings.

Eduardo Bolsonaro has publicly supported Trump's interventions and appeared at events allied with the Make America Great Again movement. He defended the U.S. measures as legitimate and said he would continue to press for what he calls "justice" for his father. In a social media post after the panel's decision he denounced the indictment as a "WITCH HUNT," denied responsibility for U.S. sanctions or tariffs and accused Justice de Moraes of seeking to use Brazil's clean-record law to bar him from future office.

If convicted of obstruction of justice, Eduardo Bolsonaro could face a fine and up to four years in prison. Meanwhile, Jair Bolsonaro remains under house arrest while appealing his sentence; the same Supreme Court panel last week rejected his request to reduce or overturn that sentence.

What happens next

The panel's decision permits prosecutors to pursue a trial; whether they will seek to try Eduardo in absentia or await his return to Brazil remains to be seen. The panel's formal voting period is open through November 25, after which further procedural steps will determine the schedule for any trial.