Brazilian authorities have vowed to guard democracy after 1000’s of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters stormed congress, the supreme court docket and presidential palace within the capital Brasilia.

The protesters have been looking for army intervention to both restore the far-right Mr Bolsonaro to energy or oust the newly inaugurated leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, unleashing chaos and destruction that bore putting similarities to the riot on the US capitol on January 6 final 12 months.

Rioters donning the inexperienced and yellow of the nationwide flag on Sunday broke home windows, toppled furnishings, hurled computer systems and printers to the bottom on the nation’s highest seats of energy within the capital.

They punctured an enormous Emiliano Di Cavalcanti portray in 5 locations, overturned the U-shaped desk at which supreme court docket justices convene, ripped a door off one justice’s workplace and vandalised a statue outdoors the court docket.

The buildings’ interiors have been left in states of smash.

Authorities made some extent to point out that they have been shifting to forestall additional assaults on Brazil’s democratic rule of legislation.

In a information convention late on Sunday, Brazil’s minister of institutional relations mentioned the buildings could be inspected for proof together with fingerprints whereas photos could be scanned to carry folks to account, earlier than claiming the rioters apparently supposed to spark comparable actions nationwide.

Justice minister Flavio Dino mentioned the acts amounted to terrorism and coup-mongering and that police have begun monitoring those that paid for the buses that transported protesters to the capital.

“They will not succeed in destroying Brazilian democracy. We need to say that fully, with all firmness and conviction,” Mr Dino mentioned.

“We will not accept the path of criminality to carry out political fights in Brazil. A criminal is treated like a criminal.”

So far, 300 folks have been arrested, the federal district’s civil police mentioned on Twitter.

But police have been noticeably sluggish to react – even after the arrival of greater than 100 busses – main many to ponder whether or not authorities had both merely ignored quite a few warnings, underestimated the protesters’ energy, or had been in some way complicit.

Public prosecutors within the capital mentioned native safety forces had at very least been negligent whereas a supreme court docket justice quickly suspended the regional governor.

Another justice blamed authorities for not swiftly cracking down on Brazil’s budding neofascism, including that they are going to be held criminally accountable.

In the months that adopted Mr Bolsonaro’s electoral defeat on October 30, Brazil was on edge, and cautious of any avenue he may pursue to cling to energy.

Mr Bolsonaro had been stoking perception amongst his hardcore supporters that the nation’s digital voting system was liable to fraud – although he by no means offered any proof to assist this declare.

His son Eduardo Bolsonaro additionally held a number of conferences with former US president Donald Trump, Mr Trump’s longtime ally Steve Bannon and his senior marketing campaign adviser, Jason Miller.

Results from Brazil’s election – the closest in additional than three many years – have been shortly recognised by politicians throughout the spectrum, together with some Bolsonaro allies, in addition to dozens of governments around the globe.

Mr Bolsonaro shocked practically everybody by promptly fading from view. He neither conceded defeat nor emphatically claimed fraud, although he and his celebration submitted a request to nullify thousands and thousands of votes that was swiftly dismissed.

Brazilians have used digital voting since 1996 that safety specialists think about much less safe than hand-marked paper ballots as a result of they depart no auditable paper path. Brazil’s system is, nevertheless, carefully scrutinised, and home authorities and worldwide observers have by no means discovered proof of it being exploited to commit fraud.

However, Mr Bolsonaro’s supporters refused to simply accept the outcomes. They blocked roads and have remained camped outdoors army buildings, urging the armed forces to intervene.

Mr Dino, the justice minister, referred to the encampments as incubators of terrorism. Protests have been overwhelmingly peaceable, however remoted remoted threats – together with a bomb discovered on a gas truck headed to Brasilia’s airport – had prompted safety considerations.

Two days earlier than Mr Lula’s January 1 inauguration, Mr Bolsonaro flew to the US and took up non permanent residence in Orlando. Many Brazilians expressed reduction that, whereas he declined to take part within the transition of energy, his absence allowed it to happen with out incident.

Following Sunday’s havoc, Paulo Calmon, a political science professor on the University of Brasilia, mentioned: “Bolsonarism mimics the same strategies as Trumpism. Our January 8 – an unprecedented manifestation in Brazilian politics – is clearly copied from January 6 in the capitol.

“Today’s sad episodes represent yet another attempt to destabilize democracy and demonstrate that the authoritarian, populist radicalism of Brazil’s extreme right remains active under the command of former President Bolsonaro, the ‘Trump of Latin America’.”

US President Joe Biden tweeted that the riots have been an “assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil,” and that he regarded ahead to proceed working with Mr Lula.

In a information convention from Sao Paulo state, Lula learn a freshly signed decree for the federal authorities to imagine management of safety within the federal district. He mentioned that the so-called “fascist fanatics”, in addition to those that financed their actions, have to be punished, and in addition accused Bolsonaro of encouraging their rebellion.

Mr Bolsonaro repudiated the president’s accusation.

Writing on Twitter, he mentioned peaceable protest is a part of democracy, however vandalism and invasion of public buildings are “exceptions to the rule”.

He made no particular point out of the protesters’ actions in Brasilia.