Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro have stormed the presidential palace and supreme court in the country’s capital Brasilia.
Images have emerged of people breaking into the building while chanting. It appears smoke bombs have also been set off.
Last Sunday, left-leaning Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was sworn in as Brazil’s president after his election victory in October.
His presidency was welcomed by celebrations from hundreds of thousands of his supporters, but millions in the divided country were also left furious after Bolsonaro lost power.
In fact, immediately after the election defeat, Bolsonaro and his close allies started casting doubt over the fairness of the election without evidence.
Now, thousands of his supporters have spent weeks campaigning for a military coup to remove Lula from office.
This has already sparked comparisons to the aftermath of the 2020 US election when outgoing president Donald Trump baselessly claimed the vote was “stolen” from him.
Just weeks later, Trump supporters broke into the Capitol in Washington D.C, leading to five deaths.
Political commentator Rodrigo Rangel tweeted today: “Brasília has its Capitol day.”
Bolsonaro’s supporters were seen wearing yellow and green Brazil flag, which has become synomymous with his far-right movement.
They marched from a military base to the Three Powers Plaza, which houses the supreme court, the presidential palace and congress.
More to follow…
