Perpetrators Of Bomb Terror Who Fail In Brazil Bring Seven Pistols To Dinamit, Call President Bolsonaro's Incumbent

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. (Wikimedia Commons/Pal

JAKARTA - A man arrested for attempted to detonate a bomb in protest against the results of the Brazilian election, said it was inspired by the call of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, according to a copy of testimony seen by Reuters.

George Washington de Oliveira Sousa was arrested on Saturday, a day after police said they foiled plans to detonate the explosive device near Brasilia airport.

The incident adds a new dimension to post-election violence in Brazil, where tensions remain high after the fiercest election in a generation.

The upcoming Justice Minister Flavio Dino said in a television interview on Monday that security needs to be improved for Sunday's inauguration of left-wing President Luiz Inacio CLA da Silva, who defeated incumbent Bolsonaro.

"We are not talking about wolves," Dino said of Sousa.

"There are strong people behind this and the police will investigate. We will not allow political terrorism in Brazil," he said.

Sousa's initial lawyer, Wallison dos Reis Pereira said he had confessed and cooperated with the police. While his current lawyer, Jorge Chediak, said he had not spoken to Sousa, who was in prison, but said his confession to the police was full of contradictions.

Sousa, 54, the gas station manager from the northern State of Para told police Bolsonaro doubts about the election results inspired his trip on December 12 to the capital.

After arriving in Brasilia, he joined the camp of pro-Bolsonaro election deniers outside the headquarters of the army calling for a coup.

"My trip to Brasilia was so I could join the protests in front of the army headquarters and wait for the armed forces to authorize me to take up arms and destroy communism," he said, according to a copy of his testimony.

Sousa said he had become the registered gun owner, known as the CAC, in October last year, joining a group that had swelled sixfold to nearly 700,000 since Bolsonaro was elected in 2018 and began easing gun laws.

He said he had invested nearly 160,000 reais (US$30,800) since then. He said he was carrying two 12 rifles, two revolvers, three pistols, rifles, more than a thousand bullets and five sticks with him on his way to Brasilia.

"What motivates me to buy weapons are the words of President Bolsonaro, who has always emphasized the importance of civilians armed with saying, 'Armed residents will never benetted,'" said Sousa.

He said he planned to distribute his weapons with other CAC holders in the Brasilia camp. On December 12, the day of CLA's victory was passed, several camp residents attacked the federal police headquarters in Brasilia.

After the December 12 attacks, he said police and firefighters near the camp told him they would not arrest protesters for vandalism, as long as they did not attack the police. Their comments led him to believe, "intervention of the armed forces will be announced soon."

But as weeks passed without a coup, he and others in the camp made plans to prevent CLA from taking office. Their idea, he said, was "to provoke military intervention and the siege of the country."

The original plan was to detonate a bomb in the parking lot of Brasilia airport's car, followed by two more bombs in the departure room, he said. The gang is also considering blowing up the power substation, he added.

Sousa told police he made a bomb on December 23, using narcotics he brought from Para, and a remote trigger that other people at the camp gave him. He said he would hand over the bomb to fellow camp residents, asking him to install it at the substation, because "I don't agree with the idea of staying in the airport parking lot."

On the same day, Sousa saw on the news that the police found a bomb near the airport. The next day, after seeing a foreign man near his rented apartment, he decided to pack his bag and put his gun in the trunk of his car to leave Brasilia, but was arrested by the police before he could leave.