Brazilian Judge Issues Arrest Warrant for Eduardo Bolsonaro

A Brazilian Supreme Court justice issued an arrest warrant Thursday for Eduardo Bolsonaro, a son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was previously sentenced to prison for lobbying the Trump administration.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the arrest of Eduardo Bolsonaro, 42, after he was sentenced in June to four years in prison for lobbying the Trump administration to impose sanctions against members of the Brazilian government and implement higher tariffs on the country's exports. The lobbying effort occurred during the trial of his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, for a coup attempt.

Eduardo Bolsonaro, who lives in Texas and holds a green card, has been a key liaison between his brother, presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, and the Trump administration. The warrant was issued less than three weeks before a presidential runoff election between incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro.

De Moraes, whom the Bolsonaro family views as a political adversary, also canceled Eduardo Bolsonaro's Brazilian passport. The judge chaired the investigation that led to Jair Bolsonaro's conviction last year for a coup attempt.

The ruling stated that Eduardo Bolsonaro should begin serving his sentence immediately and warned federal police to arrest him if he returns to Brazil. The judge wrote that "the defendant cannot benefit from his own wrongdoing by fleeing the national territory to an unknown location for the purpose of thwarting the application of criminal law."

Eduardo Bolsonaro has resided in the U.S. since 2025, a move that resulted in his loss of a seat in the Brazilian National Congress and his position as a federal police investigator due to prolonged absence.

Legal experts suggest that an extradition is unlikely. The U.S. and Brazil have an extradition agreement from 1961, but the Trump administration would need to approve any request for Bolsonaro. Furthermore, the specific offense for which Eduardo Bolsonaro was convicted—coercion in the course of judicial proceedings—is not typically included in extradition treaties and tends to be interpreted exhaustively. Additionally, the crimes were committed while Bolsonaro was in the U.S., presenting a territorial jurisdiction question.

Prior to the arrest warrant, Eduardo Bolsonaro had actively supported his brother's presidential campaign. On May 26, he brought Flávio Bolsonaro to the White House to meet with former President Trump, an event that occurred while Flávio Bolsonaro faced scrutiny over his ties to a disgraced banker, which some analysts believed could jeopardize his candidacy.