Brazil vows swift justice after backers of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro storm government
JANUARY 9, 2023
Rio de Janeiro — Brazilian authorities were picking up the pieces and investigating Monday after thousands of ex-President Jair
Bolsonaro's supporters stormed Congress, the Supreme Court and presidential palace and trashed the nation's highest seats of power in what officials have called "terrorist acts." The protesters were seeking military intervention to either restore the far-right Bolsonaro to power or oust the newly inaugurated leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in scenes of chaos and destruction reminiscent of the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Rioters donning the green and yellow of the national flag on Sunday broke windows, toppled furniture, hurled computers and printers to the ground. They punctured a massive Emiliano Di Cavalcanti painting in five places, overturned the U-shaped table at which Supreme Court justices convene, ripped a door off one justice's office and vandalized an iconic statue outside the court. The monumental buildings' interiors were left in states of ruin.
On Monday, the heads of Brazil's three branches of government, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, acting Senate President Veneziano Vital do Rego, Lower House Speaker Arthur Lira and Chief Justice Rosa Weber all signed a joint statement condemning the collective actions of Bolsonaro's supporters the previous day as "terrorist acts."
"We are united so that institutional measures are taken under the terms of Brazilian laws," the leaders said, adding a call for "serenity and peace" in the politically divided nation.
In a news conference late Sunday, Brazil's minister of institutional relations said the buildings would be inspected for evidence including fingerprints and images to hold people to account, and that the rioters apparently intended to spark similar such actions nationwide. Justice Minister Flávio Dino said the acts amounted to terrorism and coup-mongering and that authorities have begun tracking those who paid for the buses that transported protesters to the capital.
"They will not succeed in destroying Brazilian democracy. We need to say that fully, with all firmness and conviction," Dino said. "We will not accept the path of criminality to carry out political fights in Brazil. A criminal is treated like a criminal."
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