Brazilian police clear congressional buildings of pro-Bolsonaro rioters

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Police regained control of Brazil’s main government complex on Sunday night after thousands of supporters of former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the Congress building, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace.

Footage on social media earlier showed crowds vandalizing the interiors of the three institutions in Brasilia, in scenes reminiscent of the invasion of the Capitol two years ago by supporters of former President Donald Trump.

Dressed in the yellow-green Brazilian flag, the demonstrators called for a military coup, demanding the annulment of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s election victory and the imprisonment of the leftist leader. Police said 300 people were arrested.

Although government buildings were unoccupied and Congress was not in session, the abuses are likely to raise doubts about the security of Brazil’s political and judicial institutions. The incident also marks difficult choices for Lula, who assumed the presidency just a week ago promising to unite the nation but will come under pressure to crack down on Bolsonaro’s radical supporters.

Protesters clash with police after they stormed the Planalto presidential palace © Eraldo Peres / AP

“There is no precedent in the history of our country for what these people have done. They should be punished,” said Lula, who was outside the capital on Sunday visiting a city in the state of Sao Paulo that was affected by the recent floods.

“They will all pay by force of law for this irresponsible act, this anti-democratic act, this subversive and fascist act.”

Television footage showed police firing stun grenades and pepper spray at protesters, who then stormed through barricades and climbed a ramp to the roof of parliament alongside the building’s distinctive white double domes. A video clip has gone viral on the internet showing a riding police officer falling off his horse after being violently accosted by a group of hooligans.

Smartphone images emerged of ransacked rooms with damaged furniture, files strewn on the floor and water spraying from fire sprinklers. Many hackers covered their faces with masks.

Bolsonaro, who is currently in Florida, said on Twitter that peaceful demonstrations are part of democracy, but that Sunday’s actions went too far. However, he rejected Lula’s accusations that he encouraged the business.

The former nationalist army chief defied tradition by not attending Lula’s inauguration last week, and instead traveled to the United States.

Like his former US counterpart Trump, Bolsonaro has long questioned the integrity of Brazil’s electronic voting system. His political party filed a legal challenge to annul the election result, but it was rejected by the court.

The unrest occurred after demonstrators descended on loaded buses into the capital on Sunday to take part in a planned demonstration. Police had cleared the intruders from the sites by evening, as calm had largely returned to the capital’s main street where dozens of extremists remained.

Questions will be asked of the new defense minister, José Museo Montero, given his careful treatment of activists who refuse to accept Bolsonaro’s defeat and have for months been outside military bases to demand a coup by the armed forces. They allege without evidence that the poll was rigged and accuse senior judges of political bias and censorship.

“This futile attempt to impose the will by force will not prevail,” Brazil’s Minister of Justice and Public Security, Flavio Dino, said Sunday night.

A Bolsonaro supporter waves the Brazilian national flag from a window after storming the Planalto presidential palace © Eraldo Peres / AP

Prominent lawmakers and Lula’s allies denounced the measures as an attack on democracy.

Rodrigo Pacheco, president of the Senate, wrote on social media: “I strongly reject these anti-democratic actions, which must urgently face the rigor of the law.”

Glisi Hoffman, president of Lula’s Labor Party, said authorities in the federal district, where Brasilia is located, had failed to provide adequate security.

It is a declared crime against democracy and against the will to vote and other interests. [The] And she wrote on Twitter.

Join the chorus of censure by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Rosa Weber pledged that “the terrorists who participated in these acts will be properly prosecuted and punished in an exemplary manner.” Another senior judge said the event’s organizers and financiers, as well as government officials involved in “anti-democratic acts,” would all face justice as well.

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Shortly after the attacks, the governor of Brasília announced that his secretary in charge of security had been fired.

A key Bolsonaro ally has also sought to keep the far-right populist out of the unrest.

Waldemar Costa Neto, head of the former president’s Liberal Party, said the rioters “do not represent Bolsonaro”.

Politicians and leaders around the world denounced these actions and expressed support for Lula’s administration.

US President Joe Biden – whose 2020 election opponent Trump also refused to concede – called the attack “outrageous”.

“Brazilian democracy will prevail over violence and extremism,” said the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell.

Additional reporting by Carolina Engiza in São Paulo

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