[3] He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro from 2003 to 2019,[4] and was affiliated with the Social Liberal Party.

[7] In the 2016 elections, Flavio Bolsonaro ran for mayor of Rio de Janeiro under the Social Christian Party (PSC).

After fainting during the debate, Bolsonaro refused professional medical assistance from then socialist deputy and candidate Jandira Feghali.

[9][10][11] In 2018, Bolsonaro was elected to the Federal Senate representing the state of Rio de Janeiro, having received 4.38 million votes (31.36%).

[16] On 28 September 2020 O Globo reported that Bolsonaro had been indicted for graft and money laundering, citing a 300-page indictment seen by the outlet; the Rio de Janeiro public prosecutor's office issued a statement denying that any charges had been filed by that point.

[17] However, on 3 November, the prosecutor's office announced that they had asked a court on 16 October to approve indictments against Bolsonaro and sixteen others for alleged involvement between 2007 and 2018 in a scheme known as rachadinha, or pay splitting, while he was a state legislator.

[18] Following the November announcement, Bolsonaro issued a statement denying wrongdoing and expressing confidence that there was no evidence that would lead a judge to approve the charges.

[18] In March 2021, Flávio Bolsonaro was accused of corruption after having acquired a mansion valued at 6 million reais.