After hundreds of supporters of the country’s former leader Jair Bolsonaro invaded key government buildings on Sunday, breaking windows and using furniture to construct barricades against police personnel, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva vowed to punish those responsible for the incident.
Lula da Silva held a news conference in which he referred to the events that took place in the capital city of Brasilia as “barbaric.” He also stated that “a lack of security” was to blame for the fact that Bolsonaro’s “fascist” supporters were able to breach the barriers that had been set up by the Armed Forces in front of the congressional building, the Supreme Court, and the Planalto Presidential Palace.
He made the statement that “these guys represent everything that is abhorrent in politics,” and went on to say that “all the people who did this will be caught and punished.”
Footage Sunday showed massive crowds in Braslia walking up a ramp to the congressional building, where they had reached the Green Room, which is located outside the chamber of the lower House of Congress, according to Interim Senate President Veneziano Vital do Rogo, who spoke to CNN Brasil about the situation.
CNN Brasil showed the entrance of anti-riot police and the Brazilian Armed Forces, while other sites showed supporters of Bolsonaro approaching the Supreme Court and the presidential palace. According to CNN Brasil, the sprinkler system was triggered inside the Congress building when demonstrators tried to light the carpet on fire, which resulted in the floor being swamped with water. Additional recordings showed protestors trashing artwork and removing presents that had been presented to them by diplomatic delegations while they were inside the facility.
The breaches occurred around one week after the inauguration of Lula da Silva, who returned to office after a 12-year absence after defeating Bolsonaro in a run-off election on October 30. Lula da Silva’s return to power came after he beat Bolsonaro in the election.
Bolsonaro’s government had earlier said that it was working with the handover of power; nevertheless, the far-right leader has refrained from openly recognising that he lost the election, and he fled the nation for the United States before Lula da Silva was sworn into office.
According to CNN Brasil, all demonstrators had been removed from the three buildings by the time Sunday evening rolled around, some hours after the breaches had taken place. According to statements made by Ibaneis Rocha, governor of the Federal District, at least four hundred persons have been taken into custody.
Rocha tweeted that those who were detained “will pay for the crimes committed,” and added that authorities are “trying to find all of the other individuals who participated in these terrorist activities this afternoon.”
A few hours later, Rocha was handed a 90-day suspension from his position as a judge by Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Court.
According to a court ruling, the judge also ordered the military to remove any camps set up by supporters of Bolsonaro around the nation within the next twenty-four hours. The judge also instructed the police to arrest any protestors who were still present on the streets.
Moraes said that all roadways need to be removed by Monday and that commanders from the military forces, police, and the minister of defence would be held liable in court if the camps were not destroyed. He added that all highways need to be evacuated by Monday.
Since their candidate, Bolsonaro, lost the election, his followers have been camping out in the capital. Because of their ongoing presence, Justice Minister Flavio Dino gave authorization to the Armed Forces to put up barricades and defend the parliament building on Saturday.
Dino referred to the events that took place on Sunday as “a coup” as he was speaking to media following the turmoil and said that the government will increase security in the city.
There are still individuals on the internet who are claiming that they are going to go on committing acts of terrorism. “However, they will not be successful in their attempt to undermine Brazilian democracy,” he went on to say.
Torres, who served as Bolsonaro’s Minister of Justice, had been assigned to the post of the Federal District governor by the current governor, Rocha, but he was fired following the breaches that occurred on Sunday.
In addition to this, the AGU made a plea for the “rapid evacuation of all federal public facilities throughout the nation, and the dissolution of anti-democratic activities carried out in the proximity of barracks and other military units.”