Bolsonaro Son Charged with 'Coercion' in Brazil Coup Trial

Brazil’s chief prosecutor has charged a son of Jair Bolsonaro, the former president, with interfering in his father’s coup trial, accusing him of directly lobbying the United States to impose sanctions in an attempt to coerce the process.

Eduardo Bolsonaro, 41, a congressman currently living in the United States, “repeatedly sought to subordinate the interests of Brazil and the entire society to his own personal and family agenda,” the prosecutor general’s office said in a statement.

Former President Bolsonaro was sentenced this month to 27 years in prison for his role in a failed coup bid after his 2022 election loss to the current president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He is currently under house arrest.

For months the case has drawn fierce criticism from Washington, which claimed it amounted to a “witchhunt” against Bolsonaro, a populist, ultra-conservative ally of President Trump.

In July, Trump announced a 50 per cent tariff on Brazilian imported goods, directly linking that decision to the prosecution of Bolsonaro. Washington has since sanctioned Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the head of the Brazilian supreme court, which tried the case, alleging he oversaw “politicised prosecutions”. Visa restrictions have also been imposed on several other supreme court judges.

Brazilian prosecutors claim the US strategy was all instigated by Eduardo Bolsonaro, who moved with his family to Washington DC in February. The congressman “did not hesitate to claim to be the determining inspiration for the economic sanctions that were, as is well known, ultimately imposed by the US government”, said the prosecutor general’s office in a statement.

Eduardo Bolsonaro has said the accusation is “bogus”.

The third of the former president’s four sons has had a sometimes fiery relationship with his father.

This emerged during the coup trial, when WhatsApp messages between the two men were revealed. In one, after the former president mentioned in a media interview that his son could sometimes be “immature”, Eduardo texted his father saying “F*** YOU, YOU UNGRATEFUL BASTARD!”.

He is charged alongside the prominent blogger Paulo Renato Figueiredo Filho, a grandson of the last general to rule Brazil, during its 1964-1985 dictatorship. Prosecutors alleged both men “announced the sanctions in advance, celebrated when they were imposed, and designated them as a harbinger of more, if the supreme court did not relent”.

Shortly before the indictment against Eduardo Bolsonaro was announced, the US Department of the Treasury said that it was sanctioning Viviane Barci de Moraes, the wife of Alexandre de Moraes.

“Alexandre de Moraes is responsible for an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions, and politicised prosecutions — including against former President Jair Bolsonaro,” Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, said in a statement. “Today’s action makes clear that the Treasury will continue to target individuals who provide material support to de Moraes as he abuses human rights.”

Eduardo Bolsonaro was quick to praise that decision.

In an interview on Monday, he said that the “Brazilian elite” should offer amnesty to his father or relations with the US would only deteriorate. Hours later, his own indictment was announced.