SUPPORTERS of Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro have stormed Congress, the Supreme Court and presidential palace in the country’s capital.
According to reports, police have been using tear gas in an effort to stop the supporters of the far-right figure.
Thousands of demonstrators bypassed security barricades, climbed on the roofs, broke windows and invaded all three buildings, which are connected through the vast Three Powers square in Brasilia, in scenes similar to the January 6 2021 invasion of the US Capitol.
Brazilian news site Metropoles uploaded footage of supporters, wearing the colours of the country's flag, swarming the building.
⚠️ Bolsonaristas invadem o Congresso Nacional em manifestação antidemocrática pic.twitter.com/fpLp7TThD2
— Metrópoles (@Metropoles) January 8, 2023
Footage shared by other journalists showed Bolsonaro's supporters inside the Congressional chamber, echoing scenes from January 6.
Bolsonaro supporters are inside the Congressional Chamber. Like January 6th. pic.twitter.com/Hg3VYOujQZ
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) January 8, 2023
It comes just a week after Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was inaugurated as the country’s new president.
CNN reports that the new president is not in the building, and the house is not in session.
Bolsonaro is currently in the United States to avoid the handover to his successor.
Supporters of Bolsonaro have been protesting against Lula’s election win since October 30, blocking roads, setting vehicles on fire and gathering outside military buildings to ask the armed forces to intervene.
Many believed the election results were fraudulent or unreliable.
“This absurd attempt to impose their will by force will not prevail,” said Justice Minister Flavio Dino on his Twitter account. “The government of the Federal District has ensured there will be reinforcements. And the forces at our disposal are at work.”
Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco said he was in permanent contact with Brasilia’s governor, Ibaneis Rocha, and that the entire police apparatus had been mobilised to control the situation.
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