Brasilia [Brazil], January 9 (ANI): Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro breached security barriers on Sunday and entered the country’s congressional building, the Supreme Court, and the Planalto Presidential Palace, CNN reported citing images shown in Brazilian media. Brazil’s Attorney General’s office (MPF) has said that it is conducting an investigation of all those involved in the breaching of the country’s congressional building, the Supreme Court, and the Planalto Presidential Palace on Sunday.

Speaking to CNN Brasil, Interim Senate President Veneziano Vital do Rogo said that footage showed massive crowds in Brasilia walking up on a ramp that leads to the congressional building and reaching the Green Room, which is located outside the lower house of Congress Chamber.

As per the news report, footage showed Bolsonaro’s supporters entering the Supreme court and the presidential palace. The breaches come about a week after Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took over as Brazilian President after he defeated Bolsonaro in a run-off election in October.

Since then, supporters of Bolsonaro have camped out in Brasilia since Lula took over as Brazilian President. No session is underway in either house of Congress and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was not in the building. A team assembled for the newly-elected President was working inside the palace when the protesters entered, according to CNN.

Officials at Planalto Palace have been waiting for the Air Force to evacuate them from the building. A male protester was seen sitting at the desk of Brazil’s Congress president after the supporters of Bolsonaro entered the lower house’s building, as per the CNN report. According to CNN, the video footage showed pro-Bolsonaro supporters walking through the palace and holding up Brazilian flags in a large window to groups of supporters who are on the ground. (ANI)

Brazilian authorities clear govt offices of protesters, at least 170 arrested

At least 170 people were arrested after supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stormed government offices, CNN reported citing CNN Brasil. Police said the authorities have taken control of three main government buildings — the Supreme Court, the presidential palace and Congressional buildings.

According to the police, the government buildings involved in Monday’s breach have been cleared of protesters. Executive secretary of the Brazilian Justice Minister, Ricardo Cappelli, vowed to punish all those involved in breaching the government buildings.

“I’m in the field, walking on the streets and personally commanding the security forces, fulfilling the mission I received from the President of the Republic. Nobody will go unpunished. The democratic rule of law will not be walled up by criminals,” CNN quoted Ricardo Cappelli as saying. On Sunday, supporters of Bolsonaro breached security barriers and broke into Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court and the Planalto Presidential Palace, CNN reported citing images shown in Brazilian media.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was not in the building at the time. However, a team of officials gathered for the newly-elected President was working inside the palace when the protesters entered the building. The raid by Bolsonaro supporters comes after Brazil’s Justice Minister Flavio Dino on Saturday authorised the country’s armed forces to set up barriers and guard the congressional building due to the continued presence of Bolsonaro supporters, as per the news report.

The report said supporters of Bolsonaro have been camping out in Brasilia since Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took over as Brazilian President. Since Bolsonaro’s defeat in the elections, thousands of his supporters have gathered at military barracks in Brazil, calling on the army to step in as they claim that the election was stolen.

Meanwhile, Minister-Chief of the Secretariat of Social Communication for Brazil’s President Paulo Pimenta shared a video on Twitter giving a walking tour of his office after Bolsonaro supporters entered the Planalto palace. The video shows overturned furniture, destroyed computers and monitors and damaged artwork. (ANI)

Bolsonaro denounces violence after supporters storm government buildings

Brasilia [Brazil], January 9 (ANI): Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro denounced the “depredations and invasions of public buildings” in Brasilia, after his supporters stormed key government buildings Sunday, reported CNN. Bolsonaro tweeted that “peaceful demonstrations, respecting the law, are part of democracy.” “However, depredations and invasions of public buildings as occurred today, as well as those practiced by the left in 2013 and 2017, escape the rule,” he continued. “Throughout my mandate, I have always been acting according to the Constitution, respecting and defending the laws, democracy, transparency and our sacred freedom,” added Bolsonaro.

Supporters of Brazilian far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro who refuse to accept his electoral defeat have stormed the presidential palace, Congress, and the Supreme Court in the capital, Brasilia.
Videos on social media showed Bolsonaro supporters smashing windows and furniture in the National Congress and Supreme Court buildings on Sunday, reported Al Jazeera. They climbed onto the roof of the Congress building, where Brazil’s Senate and Chamber of Deputies conduct their legislative business, unfurling a banner that read “intervention” and an apparent appeal to Brazil’s military.

Images on TV channel Globo News also showed protesters roaming the presidential palace, many of them wearing green and yellow – the colours of the Brazilian flag, which have also come to symbolize the Bolsonaro government. Security forces used tear gas in an effort to push back the demonstrators with local media estimating about 3,000 people were involved in the incident, reported Al Jazeera.

The siege, which lasted a little over three hours, comes just a week after the inauguration of Bolsonaro’s leftist rival, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Around 3,000 supporters of Brazil’s far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro broke into Brazil’s Congress building, the presidential palace in a dramatic protest against President Silva’s inauguration last week, who defeated Bolsonaro in a runoff election on October 30.

Bolsonaro challenged the election results and has not explicitly conceded, though he said he would cooperate with the transition of power. Responding to the invasion, Lula declared a federal security intervention in Brasilia that will remain in place until the end of the month.

Meanwhile, police have since cleared the massive crowds from government buildings and made at least 400 arrests, according to CNN Brasil and a local official.

At least 400 people have been arrested after pro-Bolsonaro supporters stormed key government buildings in Brazil’s capital, said Ibaneis Rocha, the governor of the country’s Federal District.
Rocha tweeted that those arrested “will pay for the crimes committed.” “We continue working to identify all the others who participated in these terrorist acts this afternoon in the Federal District. We continue to work to restore order,” Rocha added.

The three main government buildings — the Supreme Court, the presidential palace and the congressional building — involved in today’s breach have been cleared of protesters, police said Sunday, according to CNN Brasil. Moreover, Justice Minister Flavio Dino said that Brazil’s government will adopt more measures aimed at strengthening the capital of Brasilia.

Dino told reporters “there are still people on the internet saying that they are going to continue with terrorist acts. And they will not be able to destroy Brazilian democracy. They won’t.” He also described Sunday’s events in Brasilia as “a coup,” reported CNN. “We regret that the heritage of the Brazilian people has been squandered in a vile way. This is not about the continuity of the electoral process, it is about coup d’etat, terrorism,” the minister said while adding that “we are not going to accept the path of criminality to carry out a political struggle in Brazil. Criminals will be treated like criminals.”

Dino went on to say “this will never happen again in this country because there is unity among the institutions to guarantee social peace and act against terrorism.” In the latest development, Facebook’s parent company Meta declared the unrest in Brazil a “violating event” on Sunday, adding it would “remove content that supports or praises” protesters who breached government buildings, reported CNN. “In advance of the election, we designated Brazil as a temporary high-risk location and have been removing content calling for people to take up arms or forcibly invade Congress, the Presidential palace and other federal buildings,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told CNN.

“We’re also designating this as a violating event, which means we will remove content that supports or praises these actions. We’re actively monitoring the situation and will continue removing content that violates our policies.” Meta has in the past designated violent events, like terrorist attacks, school shootings, and the January 6 attack on the US Capitol as so-called “violating events.” The policy allows the company to expedite content removal in these circumstances. (ANI)