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Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters, dressed in T-shirts in Brazil’s national colors and waving flags, marched to the Brazilian Congress in Brasilia, the Supreme Court and the Presidential Palace on Sunday afternoon to wreak havoc.
Myrtle MuellerOutside Reporter News
It’s a shattering deja vu. Thousands gathered in front of the government district in the Brazilian capital Brasilia on Sunday afternoon. An angry mob tramples down the roadblocks. Hundreds of radical Bolsonaro fans invade the congress building. They conquer the plenary hall, dance on tables. They climb onto the roof and wave green and yellow Brazilian flags.
The rioters move on to the Supreme Court and finally to the Palacio do Planalto, the seat of government, leaving behind a trail of devastation: smashed windows, smashed furniture, destroyed works of art.
Sympathetic police officers allow the violence and sometimes escort the roaring crowd. All this in front of running TV cameras and smartphones. Only when the military police intervened with cavalry squadrons, armored vehicles and helicopters and used water cannons, stun grenades and tear gas did the spook come to an end – hours later.
Everything is reminiscent of the Capitol storm of January 6, 2021
Not only the unbridled violence is reminiscent of the historic January 6, 2021 in Washington. It is also their message and the timing. As with the storming of the Capitol almost exactly two years ago, the supporters of a Brazilian president who has been voted out want to prevent the new government. Like the “Trumpists”, the Bolsonaro fans also believe in the great election fraud. The similarities are no coincidence, but orchestrated with the help of right-wing extremist US agitators, my observers. The incumbent Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (77) even suspects that the revolt was financed from abroad, according to Brazilian media.
Steve Bannon (69), former chief strategist of Donald Trump (76), ranted immediately after the runoff election on October 30, 2022, in which Jair Bolsonaro (67) was voted out: “Lula stole the election. The Brazilians know that.” The ultra-right calls the Bolsonaro demonstrators “freedom fighters” and encourages them to continue taking to the streets.
Trump activist and founder of the “Stop the Steal” movement, Ali Alexander (38), calls on the Brazilians to “do everything that is necessary” and emphasizes his excellent contacts in Brazil in his posts. Another senior Trump adviser, Jason Miller, raised funds for Bolsonaro’s election campaign on his social media platform Gettr back in the fall.
Close contacts with Trump and his supporters
After the Capitol storm two years ago, Jair Bolsonaro himself had predicted a coup in his own country if he lost the election. When he then lost the election, he demonstratively stayed away from the handover to Lula da Silva. Donald Trump may also have a hand in this. In any case, Bolsonaro’s third son, Eduardo Bolsonaro (38), will travel to Florida in November 2022 and meet the former US President. He then talks to Steve Bannon and Jason Miller. This is reported by the Washington Post.
Jair Bolsonaro also visits Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and chooses Florida as his exile after the election defeat. The acting security chief of Brasilia and Bolsonaro’s former justice minister, Anderson Torres (47), are also staying there when the right-wing mob storms the government district in Brasilia. Torres has since been deposed.
He was Minister of Justice under Bolsonaro and is considered a follower of the ex-president.
The governor of the federal district around the capital was also temporarily removed from office. Ibaneis Rocha (51) will initially be suspended for 90 days, the Supreme Court ordered early Monday morning. Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the governor had done nothing to ensure public safety despite clear indications of violent actions.
Governor Rocha had previously apologized. Meanwhile, Bolsonaro’s militant supporters are announcing new protests.