Storm on government district
Lula accuses police of collaborating with rioters
Did parts of the police and military collaborate with the violent Bolsonaro supporters who stormed the government district in Braísilia on Sunday? At least that’s what the Brazilian head of state, Lula, claims.
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Hundreds of supporters of ex-Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro broke through police barriers on Sunday and stormed into Congress, the presidential palace and the Supreme Court.
After radical supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the government district in Brasília, Head of State Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva accused parts of the police and military of working with the violent demonstrators.
Many people within the Federal District’s military police and armed forces colluded with the attackers, Lula told journalists on Thursday, according to the G1 news portal. For example, the door to the government seat Palácio do Planalto was opened to the violent demonstrators. “We’re going to calmly investigate and find out what really happened,” Lula announced.
State of emergency in Brazil: Here demonstrators drag a police officer from his horse(00:37)
Police officers let the rioters do their thing
Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed the government district in Brasília on Sunday. They briefly seized the control centers of the country’s most important state authorities, rioted in offices and boardrooms and left a trail of destruction in their wake.
Videos showed police officers talking to Bolsonaro supporters and initially not intervening in the attack on Congress. It took hours for the security forces to bring the situation back under control.
Lula also announced a review of the Presidential Palace staff. The ex-military Bolsonaro brought numerous officers to the government headquarters during his tenure. “We want to see if we can correct that and replace them with career civil servants so that this becomes a civilian government again,” the head of state said. (SDA)