January 8, 2023

Siege Is Over After Extreme Right-Wing Bolsonaro Supporters Stormed Brazilian Capital

“Brasília has its Capitol day.”

Supporters of Brazilian former President Jair Bolsonaro clash with the police during a demonstration outside the Planalto Palace in Brasilia on January 8, 2023.Photo by Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty

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In scenes reminiscent of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump, crowds of supporters who appear to back former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stormed that country’s major government buildings, including the presidential offices, legislative building, and Supreme Court, on Sunday. While the situation continues to develop, images and videos posted on Twitter by people at the scene showed large swarms of attackers, mostly clad in the bright yellow associated with Bolsonaro surging into the buildings.

In responding to the crisis, Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco said,  “I vehemently repudiate these anti-democratic acts, which must urgently face the force of law.”

Other Tweets, apparently posted from inside the buildings, show rioters wearing Brazilian flags and Bolsonaro’s trademark yellow, ransacking smoke-filled rooms and corridors.

Brazilian army troops appeared to be on the scene and preparing to confront the rioters.

The attackers are also destroying the Supreme Court, which, according to the online news service UOL, had enhanced security to try to prevent this from happening.

Bolsonaro held Brazil’s presidency from 2019 until late last year when he was defeated in a close election by his liberal rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. While in office, Bolsonaro tied himself closely to Trump, with both men exhibiting a similar kind of authoritarian-tinged hard-right wing populist conservative ideology. Following his defeat, Bolsonaro refused to acknowledge Lula’s win but has largely stayed out of the limelight even as his supporters continued to rally around his cause.

Bolsonaro’s former minister of justice and current public security chief of Brasilia, Anderson Torres, says “Criminals will not go unpunished.”

Brazilian political commentators are drawing a direct line between January 6 attack at the US Capitol and this attack, with Brazilian commentator Rodrigo Rangel tweeting, “Brasília has its Capitol day.” 

Later that day, security officials took control of the situation, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva addressed the nation.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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