Brazil Riots In The Capital City: Hundreds Of People Arrested, Attorney General Asks Social Media To Block Propaganda

Protesters stormed the Brazilian Congress Building. (Twitter/@FelipZimmer)

JAKARTA - Brazilian authorities have begun investigating the worst attacks on state institutions since democracy was restored four decades ago, with President Luiz Inacio CLA da Silva pledging to bring those responsible for the unrest to justice.

Tens of thousands of anti-democracy demonstrators on Sunday stormed the Supreme Court, Congress, and the presidential palace, destroying windows, overturning furniture, destroying artwork and stealing the country's original 1988 Constitution. Weapons were also seized from the president's security office.

Brazil's Supreme Court on Sunday evening suspended Brazilian governor from office for 90 days due to weak security in the capital, after thousands of supporters of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro broke through government buildings.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes also ordered social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok to block coup propaganda.

The president of the left-wing CLA, who took office on January 1, said local military police forces reporting to Brasilia Governor Ibaneis Rocha, a former ally of Bolsonaro, did nothing to stop the protesters from moving forward.

President Lula has decided on federal interventions over public security in the capital, pledging penalties for "fascist" attack leaders aimed at provoking a military coup, to be able to return Bolsonaro to power.

"Everyone who does this will be found and punished," President CLA told reporters from the State of Sao Paulo.

The attack raised questions among President Lula's allies about how public security forces in the capital were so unprepared and easily overwhelmed by rioters, who had announced their plans days earlier on social media.

President Lula blamed Bolsonaro for fomenting the spirit of his supporters, after a campaign of baseless accusations of election fraud after the end of his government, which was marked by divisive nationalist populism.

From Florida, where he flew 48 hours before his term ended, Bolsonaro dismissed the allegations, tweeting that peaceful demonstrations were democratic but the invasion of government buildings "over the line."

Meanwhile, police recaptured damaged public buildings in the iconic futuristic capital after three hours, dispersing the crowd with tear gas.

Justice Minister Flavio Dino said 200 demonstrators had been arrested, but governor Rocha said there were 400.

Dino said the investigation would aim to reveal who financed the several hundred buses that brought Bolsonaro supporters to Brasilia, as well as investigate Rocha for not preparing security.

The occupation of government buildings has been planned for at least two weeks by Bolsonaro supporters, in groups on social media messaging platforms such as Telegram and Twitter, but there are no measures by security forces to prevent attacks by groups referred to as 'causing power by the people'.

Messages seen by Reuters throughout the week showed members of such groups set up meeting points in several cities across the country, from where chartered buses would travel to Brasilia, with the intention of occupying public buildings.

The plan includes camping in front of an army command headquarters, where a group of Bolsonaro supporters has been camping since CLA won the election in October.

On Sunday afternoon, when protesters began arriving in an open field in Brasilia, instead of being detained, they were escorted by a Military Police car with flickering lights. The riot police only arrived at the scene two hours after the raid began.

Bolsonaro faces legal risks from several investigations before the Supreme Court in Brazil and his future in the United States, where he travels on visas issued only to the president in office, is questioned.

"Bolsonaro shouldn't be in Florida," Democratic Congressor Joaquin Castro said on CNN.

"The United States should not be a shelter for authoritarians who have inspired domestic terrorism in Brazil. He should be sent back to Brazil," he said.