Supporters of ex-President Bolsonaro storm Brazil's Congress, Supreme Court

January 9, 2023

Supporters of far-right former president stormed the Brazilian  and the  and surrounded the  in Brazil's capital Brasília today, a week after the inauguration of leftist opponent Lula da Silva.

Police have now retaken the buildings and detained hundreds of those in the mob.

In a scene that recalled the, a mob, donned in Brazil's national colours green and yellow, marched from the army headquarters to the that connects the government buildings.

Footage from national television and social media show an estimated three thousand protesters smashed windows, climbed on roofs and broke through barriers, while police used tear gas but failed. Once inside, they smashed furniture, committed acts of vandalism and erected barricades to stop security from entering.

Neither house of Congress are in session and da Silva (Lula) is in, however some staffers were at the presidential palace and are awaiting aerial evacuation, according to.

Justice Minister posted on Twitter:  and confirmed he was at the ministry's headquarters.

Senate President separately confirmed he was in 'permanent contact' with Governor of the Federal District, who

World leaders have offered condemnation and sympathy for Lula: Spain's offered his "full support to president Lula and to the institutions that were freely and democratically chosen by the Brazilian people", Chile's  denounced a "cowardly and vile attack on democracy" and Colombia's  said: "Fascism decides to conduct a coup."

Lula defeated army captain Bolsonaro in a fraught October 30 election that many protesters dispute, believing results to be unreliable. One, named Lima, told Agence France-Presse: "We need to re-establish order after this fraudulent election." Previously, Bolsonaro had made unfounded allegations against the electronic voting system and stopped short of conceding defeat.

On the eve of Lula's inauguration January 1, Bolsonaro left the country; a staunch ally of Donald Trump, he is currently in Florida.

His supporters previously camped outside military barracks to incite support for a military coup. On December 13, protesters set busses and cars alight as they tried to storm a failed to storm the police headquarters. The Associated Press has suggested today because Congress and the Supreme Court would have less security on a Sunday.

On January 6, 2021, supporters of Donald Trump attacked the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. to block congressional certification of Joe Biden's victory in the past year's presidential election. In August,, the US ambassador to Brazil under Barack Obama, told The Guardian: "Bolsonaro and his team have looked very closely at what happened on January 6 trying to understand why it was that a sitting president failed in his effort to overturn election results".