Brazil lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro charged with coercion

Eduardo Bolsonaro in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

SAO PAULO — Brazil’s Prosecutor General charged federal lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro with coercion, according to a statement on Monday, in a case linked to the one in which his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, was convicted for plotting a coup.

The younger Bolsonaro has “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 the statement.

Eduardo Bolsonaro moved to the U.S. earlier this year to seek support from U.S. President Donald Trump to stop criminal proceedings against his father.

He has claimed credit for pushing the White House to announce 50 per cent tariffs on most Brazilian goods.