Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Moraes Issues Arrest Warrant for Eduardo Bolsonaro Before Presidential Runoff

SAO PAULO — A justice on Brazil’s Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant on Thursday for Eduardo Bolsonaro, the brother of presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro. Eduardo was sentenced in June to four years in prison for lobbying the Trump administration.

The 42-year-old former lawmaker, who resides in Texas as a green card holder, was convicted for efforts to lobby for sanctions against Brazilian officials and the imposition of higher tariffs on Brazilian exports. These actions occurred during the trial of his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, regarding a coup attempt.

Eduardo’s lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment from The Associated Press. Officials within the Trump administration have also remained silent regarding the conviction.

Justice Alexandre de Moraes’ ruling arrives less than three weeks before the presidential runoff between incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, who secured the most votes in Sunday’s first round. Eduardo has served as a critical conduit between his brother and the Trump administration.

Moraes, whom the Bolsonaro family views as a political adversary, additionally revoked Eduardo Bolsonaro’s Brazilian passport. The judge previously chaired the investigation that resulted in Jair Bolsonaro’s 27-year prison sentence last year for a coup attempt, though Moraes has since faced corruption allegations himself.

In his decision, the justice mandated that Eduardo Bolsonaro begin serving his sentence immediately, cautioning the federal police to detain him should he re-enter Brazilian territory.

“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,” the judge stated.

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

While the US and Brazil signed an extradition agreement in 1961, Raphael Vieira da Fonseca Rocha, a law professor at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, noted that the Trump administration would need to approve an extradition request—a step considered unlikely.

Fonseca Rocha suggested that pursuing extradition via existing diplomatic legal cooperation channels would likely weaken the Supreme Court, implying the court is instead applying pressure through passport revocation rather than attempting extradition.

Joao Pedro Padua, a law professor at Fluminense Federal University, noted that coercion in judicial proceedings is not listed as an offense eligible for extradition under the treaty, a list generally interpreted as exhaustive.

“The United States would have no legal basis to extradite Eduardo Bolsonaro,” Padua said, adding that a territorial issue exists since Eduardo was in the US when the crimes leading to his Brazilian conviction occurred.

The former lawmaker had boosted his brother’s presidential campaign on May 26 by escorting him to the White House for a meeting with Trump. At the time, Flávio Bolsonaro faced scrutiny over confessed links to a disgraced banker, which analysts feared could jeopardize his candidacy.

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