Thousands of protesters supporting former Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro stormed Congress, the presidential palace and the country's Supreme Court on Sunday.
Left-wing President Luiz Inacio CLA da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in the fiercest election in a generation last year, announced federal security interventions in Brasilia that lasted until January 31, after capital security forces were initially overwhelmed with protesters.
In a press conference, he blamed Bolsonaro and complained about the lack of security in the capital, saying authorities had allowed "fascist" and "fanatics" to bring disaster.
"These thugs, who we can call fanatical Nazis, fanatical Stalinists... fanatical fascists, do what has never been done in the history of this country," said President Lula, who is on his official way to the State of Sao Paulo.
"Everyone who does this will be arrested and they will be punished," he continued.
The sight of thousands of protesters dressed in yellow and green rioted in the capital ending tensions months after the October 30 vote. Bolsonaro made false claims that Brazil's electronic voting system was vulnerable to fraud, which gave rise to violent movements from opponents of Brazil's election results.
At around 6.30 pm local time, approximately three hours after the initial report of the raid, security forces managed to retake the three buildings, GloboNews reported. TV footage showed dozens of rioters being carried away in handcuffs.
The invasion poses a direct problem for Lula, who was just sworn in on January 1 and has pledged to unite the country that has been torn apart by Bolsonaro's nationalist populist.
In this extreme long shot (ELS) the tear gas deployed by law enforcement can be observed at the demonstration in Brasilia, Brazil. #Brazil #Bra #Brasilia #Brazilian #DFBrazil #protest #rally pic.twitter.com/8ahXyo5Uv4
— Addy Adds (@OneAddyAdds) January 8, 2023
Television footage showed protesters breaking into the Supreme Court and Congress, chanting slogans and destroying furniture. Local media estimate about 3,000 people are involved.
There was no immediate news from Bolsonaro, who has barely spoken in public since losing the election. He left Brazil to Florida 48 hours before his mandate ended and was absent from the inauguration of Lala.
"This genocidal killer is pushing this through social media from Miami," President Lala said, referring to Bolsonaro.
"Everyone knows there are various speeches from the former president pushing for this," he continued.
The violent scene in Brasilia could increase legal risks for Bolsonaro, who has so far not commented on the invasion. Bolsonaro's family attorney, Frederick Wassef, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Brasilia Governor Ibaneis Rocha wrote on Twitter that he had fired his main security official, Anderson Torres, who was previously Bolsonaro's justice minister. The attorney general's office said it had submitted a request for Torres' arrest.
On Saturday, with rumors of a confrontation, Justice Minister Fl▁TAHUNvio Dino allowed the deployment of the National Public Security Forces. On Sunday, he wrote on Twitter, "absurd attempts to force will by force would not work."
Separately, the US Government, which for months sought to urge Bolsonaro to stop sowing baseless election doubts, firmly defended Brazilian democratic institutions as did other foreign leaders.
"We condemn attacks on the Presidential, Congress, and the Brazilian Supreme Court," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote on Twitter.
"Using violence to attack democratic institutions is always unacceptable. We join Lula to press for an immediate end to this action."
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