Brazil orders police probe into U.S. donor network co-founded by Vance

A Brazilian Supreme Court justice has ordered federal police to investigate possible ties between the Rockbridge Network, a conservative U.S. donor network co-founded by JD Vance, and Flávio Bolsonaro's presidential campaign.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Flávio Dino on Tuesday ordered federal police to investigate possible ties between the Rockbridge Network, a conservative U.S. donor network co-founded by Vice President JD Vance in 2019, and the presidential campaign of Flávio Bolsonaro, according to The Washington Post and Time.

Police are to examine contacts between Rockbridge and Brazilian companies or political operatives and determine whether any resources or economic benefits went to Bolsonaro's campaign. The inquiry also covers election ads tied to Polymarket and Meta and two Brazilian businessmen. The justice said the order does not prove wrongdoing.

Flávio Bolsonaro at a press conference of his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro (July 2025)

Brazilian law bars candidates from accepting support of foreign origin, including advertising. Rockbridge denied involvement, saying its Brazilian company never operated and that Brazilians had made false statements in its name. Bolsonaro's office said the campaign received no foreign money or structure, and Vance's office declined to comment.

The order came days after Flávio Bolsonaro lost Sunday's runoff to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He has since left Brazil for the United States despite a separate Supreme Court order to surrender his passports, and the State Department said he and his family would receive U.S. visas.