A Bloody Sunday: Bolsonaro supporters go on a rampage, storm presidential palace, supreme court
Supporters of far-right former president, Jair Bolsonaro, invaded the Congress and Supreme Court. It took security forces three hours to clear the key buildings of the rioters, in what is evoking memories of the 6 January 2021, assault on the US Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump
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Violence and chaos unfolded in Brazil as thousands of supporters of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro stormed Brazil’s top seats of power on Sunday. The violence drew comparisons with the US Capitol attack of 6 January 2021. AFP
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Protesters swarmed the main government buildings in Brasilia, ransacked Congress and rampaged through the presidential palace and supreme court. Thousands of demonstrators bypassed security barricades, climbed on roofs, smashed windows and invaded all three buildings, which were believed to be largely vacant on the weekend. Some of the demonstrators called for a military intervention to either restore the far-right Bolsonaro to power or oust Lula from the presidency. AP
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It took security forces three hours to retake the three buildings with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announcing a federal security intervention in Brasília lasting until 31 January. AP
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The pro-Bolsonaro militants sprinted into the Palácio do Planalto, the presidential offices, roaming the building’s corridors and vandalising the nearby supreme court, whose windows had been smashed. The protesters lit fires inside the congress building. Furniture was broken and tossed around, objects were reportedly stolen in the presidential palace and the supreme court. AP
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Most of the rioters wore the the yellow and green Brazil flag that became a symbol of Bolsonaro’s far-right movement. This sight capped months of tension after the 30 October vote. Bolsonaro, who fashions himself around Donald Trump has yet to concede defeat. He has peddled the false claim that Brazil’s electronic voting system was prone to fraud, spawning a violent movement of election deniers. AP
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Protesters, supporters of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro, stand on the roof of the National Congress building. AP
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President da Silva said there was ’no precedent in the history of our country’ and called the violence the ‘acts of vandals and fascists’. He also pledged that all of the rioters will be identified and punished for their actions. AP
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Protesters, supporters of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro, rifle through papers on a desk after storming the Planalto Palace in Brasilia. AP
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Over 400 protesters have been arrested after police finally cleared the government buildings, Brazilian authorities said. AP
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The protests and vandalism forced the police to fire tear gas to regain control of the situation. However, many are questioning how the police had ignored abundant warnings, were unprepared or were somehow complicit. AP
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The incident recalled the 6 January 2021, assault on the US Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. Political analysts have warned for months that a similar storming was a possibility in Brazil, given that Bolsonaro has sown doubt about the reliability of the nation’s electronic voting system — without any evidence. AP
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Lula accused Bolsonaro of encouraging the uprising by those he termed “fascist fanatics.” AP
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World leaders, including Joe Biden and Narendra Modi, have condemned demonstrators who stormed Brazil’s capital in protest of the nation’s presidential election results, calling the incident an ‘assault on democracy.’ Biden told reporters that the riots in Brazil were “outrageous.” His national security adviser Jake Sullivan went a step further on Twitter and said the US “condemns any effort to undermine democracy in Brazil.” AFP
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U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also said on Twitter that he condemned the assault on Brazil’s democratic institutions but he was confident “the will of the Brazilian people and the country’s institutions” would be respected. AP
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Two Democrats in the US Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Joaquin Castro, called for Bolsonaro’s extradition from the US. “The US must cease granting refuge to Bolsonaro in Florida,” Ocasio-Cortez said, as she compared the protests to the 6 January storming of the US Capitol. “Nearly two years to the day, the US Capitol was attacked by fascists, we see fascist movements abroad attempt to do the same in Brazil.” AP
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