Supporters of Brazilian former President Jair Bolsonaro clash with the police during a demonstration outside the Planalto Palace in Brasilia on January 8, 2023. (Photo by EVARISTO SA / AFP)
Rio de Janeiro: Thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro broke through security barriers in the capital of Brasilia and invaded Congress, the supreme court and the presidential palace.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva isn’t in the palace. Police used pepper spray in an attempt to control the protesters, according to local media.
Television images showed a crowd of rioters breaking through the security perimeter at congress and other branches of government in an event similar to the Jan. 6, 2021, invasion of the US Capitol.
"I vehemently repudiate these anti-democratic acts, which must urgently undergo the rigor of the law,” Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco said on Twitter.
