Recently, two alleged criminals, who used to be members of Congress, have fled Brazil: Eduardo Bolsonaro and Carla Zambelli. While the second ran to Italy, the first, Eduardo, fled to the U.S. where he’s been trying to beg Trump for help not to go to jail.
As far-right politicians tend to do, both of them cried on social media about it, calling the country a dictatorship(even though they criticize the government time and again, as did their allies, for years now and they’ve never have been sent to jail or censored so, go figure) and tried spreading more misinformation to cover the facts.
So, while this drama goes on, and considering the low coverage of the topic internationally, I thought it’d only be fair to list some of the stuff they did/are being investigated for and why.
Eduardo Bolsonaro
1. Intimidation in a legal process and blocking an investigation
Prosecutors say the member of Congress acted to scare or pressure the authorities responsible for a criminal case. Because of this, they asked for an investigation into two crimes:
- Coercion during a legal process: This happens when someone uses violence or serious threats to help themselves or someone else, trying to influence judges, police, or anyone involved in a case.
- Obstructing an investigation: This crime is in the law about criminal organizations. If someone tries to stop an investigation into a criminal group, they can be punished the same way as members of that group.
2. Trying to end the Rule of Law by dealing with a foreign government
Besides trying to interfere with justice, Eduardo Bolsonaro could also face charges for trying to end the Rule of Law.
A law signed by former president, his father, Jair Bolsonaro in 2021 says it is a crime to talk or make deals with another country to harm Brazil. Doing so can be seen as trying to destroy democracy.
3. Obstructing an investigation involving a criminal organization
This crime happens when someone tries to stop or make it harder to investigate crimes by a criminal group. This could include:
- Hiding or destroying evidence
- Threatening police or investigators
- Changing or lying about information
Which he did.
4. Violently trying to end democracy
This is a serious crime where someone uses violence or strong threats to try to destroy Brazil’s democracy. It includes trying to stop the Congress, the courts, or the president from doing their jobs.
In a case about a coup attempt in 2022, former president Jair Bolsonaro and others were accused of this same crime. Many of the attacks by Eduardo Bolsonaro against the Supreme Court are linked to this case.
Carla Zambelli
1. Illegal Firearm Possession and Coercion
In 2022, Carla Zambelli pursued a man on the streets of São Paulo while brandishing a firearm. This incident led to her conviction in March 2025 for illegal possession of a weapon and coercion using a firearm. She received a sentence of five years and three months in semi-open prison. This event also contributed to the annulment of her parliamentary mandate.
2. Cyber Invasion and Ideological Falsehood
Zambelli was found guilty of collaborating with hacker Walter Delgatti in infiltrating the National Justice Council’s (CNJ) computer systems. She was also convicted of ideological falsehood for falsely attributing messages to Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. In May 2025, she was sentenced to ten years in prison for these offenses.
3. Dissemination of Electoral Disinformation
In January 2025, the São Paulo Regional Electoral Court revoked Zambelli’s mandate and suspended her political rights for eight years due to the spread of false information about Brazil’s electoral process.
4. Involvement in Coup Attempt Investigations
Zambelli is under investigation for her alleged role in a plot to prevent the transfer of power after the 2022 elections. She is accused of pressuring a high-ranking Air Force officer to support a coup and of facilitating the delivery of a dossier to the Ministry of Justice, aiming to discredit political opponents.
