Brazilian authorities have arrested a total of 1,500 people who allegedly participated in the pro-Bolsonaro attack on the nation’s seat of government.
Thousands of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters ransacked the country’s Congress, Presidential Palace and Supreme Court in the nation’s capital of Brasilia on Sunday. Brazilian President Lula da Silva has vowed consequences for those who participated and has opened an investigation into how the riot was financed.
“We will not allow democracy to slip out of our hands,” da Silva said Monday evening. “In the name of defending democracy, we will not act in an authoritarian way with anyone, but we also will not go lightly on them. We will investigate and find out who financed it.”
Da Silva has accused Bolsonaro of inciting and encouraging the rioters. Bolsonaro was in Florida at the time of the attack and was briefly hospitalized Monday after complaining of pain related to his 2018 stabbing injury.
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Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president, speaks during a meeting with governors in Brasilia following an attack on the nation’s capital. (Arthur Menescal/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Supporters of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro demonstrate against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as security forces operate, outside Brazil’s National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, January 8, 2023. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo
A view of damaged police car as supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro clash with security forces after raiding the National Congress. (Joedson Alves/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Bolsonaro offered a meager criticism of the attack Sunday evening, comparing the violence to Brazil’s left-wing riots in 2013 and 2017.
“Peaceful demonstrations, within the law, are part of democracy. However, vandalism and the invasion of public buildings like today’s acts, and like those practiced by the left in 2013 and 2017, are an exception,” Bolsonaro wrote in a statement.
Nevertheless, da Silva has named him personally responsible for the attack, though no formal investigation or charges have been made.
“He didn’t just provoke this or encourage this–he’s still encouraging this via social media,” Da Silva said Sunday.
Damage outside the Supreme Federal Court building following attacks on government buildings by supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in Brasilia, Brazil, on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. (Arthur Menescal/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Damage outside the Supreme Federal Court building following attacks on government buildings by supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in Brasilia, Brazil, on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. (Arthur Menescal/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, several Democrats in Congress have called for the U.S. to extradite Bolsonaro out of Florida. Democrats have compared the attack in Brazil to the pro-Trump storming of the U.S. Capitol in January 2021. Like former President Donald Trump, Bolsonaro refused to concede to Brazilian President Luiz In?cio Lula da Silva and did not attend his inauguration.
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“Two years ago out Capitol was attacked by fanatics, now we are watching it happen in Brazil,” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., tweeted Sunday “Solidarity with [President] Lula and the Brazilian people. Democracies around the world must stand united to condemn this attack on democracy.”
“Bolsonaro should not be given refuge in Florida,” she added.
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, and Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, echoed the call.
