Brazil's Attorney-General's Office seeks conviction of Eduardo Bolsonaro for coercion against Supreme Court
The Office of the Attorney-General of the Republic has requested the conviction of former federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro for the crime of coercion within the proceedings concerning the attempted 2022 coup.
Eduardo Bolsonaro tried at Supreme Court for coercion in 2022 coup plot case
The Office of the Attorney-General of the Republic (PGR) of Brazil requested on Tuesday the conviction of former federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro for the crime of coercion within the trial relating to the attempted coup d'état of 2022. The case is being heard by the 1st Panel of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), composed of four judges, according to reporting by Correio da Manhã.
According to the prosecution, Eduardo Bolsonaro — son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, convicted to 27 years and three months in prison — interceded with United States authorities and parliamentarians to pressure the White House to impose sanctions against judges of the Supreme Court and against Brazil itself. The stated objective was to retaliate for the legal proceedings being conducted against his father.
Deputy Attorney-General of the Republic Antônio Edílio Magalhães presented at the session various publications and messages exchanged between Eduardo and Jair Bolsonaro, used as evidence to support the request for conviction. "This is a relatively straightforward situation from a criminal law perspective. There is an entire element, a factual context and body of evidence showing that this coercion effectively existed," Magalhães stated during the session.
The deputy attorney-general further added that the consequences of the alleged criminal strategy were concrete: "The criminal strategy resulted in concrete harm to various productive sectors burdened by United States tariffs, ultimately affecting workers linked to these supply chains, completely unrelated to the criminal proceedings being attacked."
In March 2025, Eduardo Bolsonaro had announced the temporary suspension of his federal deputy mandate to establish residence in the United States. At the time, he justified his withdrawal with the intention of "dedicating himself fully and seeking due sanctions against human rights violators."
The trial began at 14:00 local time (18:00 in Lisbon) and, given that there is no defined time limit for the submission of votes, it may continue for several hours. The vote of the rapporteur judge, Alexandre de Moraes, is the first to be cast, followed by the remaining three judges of the panel. Three votes are required to convict or acquit the former deputy.
The defence of Eduardo Bolsonaro is provided by the Public Defender's Office of the Union, as the defendant did not hire a lawyer in this case. Among other arguments, the defence alleges that Moraes should not participate in the trial as he is one of the authorities targeted by the sanctions imposed by the United States.
Source: Correio da Manhã