Key Points
- Supporters of Brazil's ex-president Jair Bolsonaro have invaded the nation's Congress and Supreme Court.
- Mr Bolsonaro lost the 30 October presidential run-off to leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
- Comparisions have been drawn between the scenes in Brasília and the US Capitol invasion on 6 January 2021 .
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has vowed to identify and punish the supporters of former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro who on Sunday stormed the country's Congress, presidential palace, and Supreme Court in Brasília.
The sight of thousands of yellow-and-green-clad protesters wreaking havoc in the Brazilian capital capped months of tension following the most fraught election for a generation, and was a grim echo of the 2021 US Capitol invasion by backers of former president Donald Trump.
, who lost the 30 October vote to leftist Mr da Silva - popularly known as Lula - peddled the false claim that Brazil's electronic voting system was prone to fraud, spawning a violent movement of election deniers.
Lula, who is on an official trip to Sao Paulo state, blamed Mr Bolsonaro for the invasion, and complained about a lack of security in the capital, saying it had let "fascists" and "fanatics" wreak havoc.
"These vandals, who we could call fanatical Nazis, fanatical Stalinists ... fanatical fascists, did what has never been done in the history of this country," he said.
"All these people who did this will be found and they will be punished."
A few hours after the initial reports of the invasion, authorities had managed to retake the three government buildings,
The governor of Brasília, Ibaneis Rocha, later confirmed at least 400 people had so far been arrested and would "pay for the crimes committed".
"We continue working to identify all the others who participated in these terrorist acts this afternoon in the Federal District. We continue to work to restore order," he wrote on Twitter.
Protesters and supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the National Congress building on 8 January. Source: AP / Eraldo Peres
Mr Bolsonaro, who flew to the US state of Florida 48 hours before the end of his mandate as president, took to Twitter to denounced the protesters' actions.
"Peaceful demonstrations, in the form of the law, are part of democracy," he wrote.
"However, depredations and invasions of public buildings as occurred today, as well as those practised by the left in 2013 and 2017, escape the rule."
Mr Bolsonaro also rejected Lula's accusation that he was to blame for the invasion.
Brazilian authorities formed a chain behind barriers and fired tear gas grenades at the demonstrators. Source: Getty / picture alliance
Lula announced a federal security intervention in Brasília would last until 31 January, and pledged to root out the financiers of the movement.
Many of the protesters who have camped out in Brasília dispute the election result. Local media estimated about 3,000 people were involved.
