Bolsonaro Supporters Breach Security Barriers, Break Into Brazilian Congress, Supreme Court and Presidential Palacehttps://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/01/08/americas/brazil-bolsonaro-supporters-breach-congress/index.htmlSupporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Sunday breached security barriers set up by the Armed Forces and gained access to key buildings for each of the three branches of government, including the congressional building, the Supreme Court and the Planalto Presidential Palace, according to images shown in Brazilian media.
Footage showed massive crowds in the capital of Brasília walking up a ramp that leads to the congressional building, where they had reached the Green Room, located outside the lower House of Congress' chamber, Interim Senate President Veneziano Vital do Rogo told CNN Brasil.
Other outlets showed Bolsonaro suporters entering the Supreme Court and the presidential palace, where CNN Brasil showed the arrivals of anti-riot police and the Brazilian Armed Forces. Inside, protesters were using furniture to build barricades to prevent police from entering, CNN Brasil reported.
The breaches come about a week after the inauguration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, whose return to power after a 12-year hiatus comes after he defeated Bolsonaro in a run-off election on October 30.
Neither house of Congress is currently in session. And while President Lula is not currently in the building, a team assembled for the newly-elected president was working inside the palace at the time the protesters entered, CNN Brasil reported. Officials at Planalto Palace are waiting for the Air Force to evacuate them from the building, per CNN Brasil.
President Lula on Sunday described the events as "barbaric" and called the Bolsonaro protesters who breached the government buildings "fascists.""These people are everything that is abominable in politics, to invade the government headquarters, the headquarters of Congress and the headquarters of the Supreme Court like true vandals destroying everything in their path," Lula said.
The president held the press conference in Araraquara, Sao Paulo, where he had been surveying areas damaged by heavy floods.
Brazilian officials condemned the actions of demonstrators, which were reminiscent of January 6, 2021, when rioters stormed the US Capitol in an effort to prevent the certification of the 2020 election and President Joe Biden's win over former President Donald Trump.
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/bolsonaro-supporters-invade-congress-presidential-palace-brasilia-2023-01-08/President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in the most fraught election in a generation last year, announced a federal security intervention in Brasilia lasting until Jan. 31 after capital security forces initially were overwhelmed by the invaders.
Around 6.30 p.m. local time, some three hours after the initial reports of the invasion, security forces managed to retake the three buildings, GloboNews reported. TV images showed dozens of rioters being led away in handcuffs.
Local media estimated about 3,000 people were involved.
There was no immediate word from Bolsonaro, who has barely spoken in public since losing the election. He flew to Florida 48 hours before the end of his mandate and was absent from Lula's inauguration.
... Brasilia Governor Ibaneis Rocha wrote on Twitter that he had fired his top security official, Anderson Torres, previously Bolsonaro's justice minister. The solicitor general's office said it had filed a request for Torres' arrest.
Torres told website UOL that he was with his family on holiday in the United States, and had not met with Bolsonaro. UOL said he was in Orlando, where Bolsonaro is currently based.
https://amp.dw.com/en/brazil-bolsonaro-supporters-storm-national-congress/a-64320440... if this stands then the Amazon is toast