Mass arrests reported after protesters storm government offices in Brazil

Authorities in Brazil reported at least 1,200 people detained after protesters broke into government offices in the capital of Brasilia on Sunday, according to The New York Times.

Thousands of former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters invaded the Brazilian Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace Sunday to protest election results from October, when Bolsonaro lost reelection but failed to fully concede to now-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The riots took place one week after Lula’s inauguration on Jan. 1.

Protesters stormed the buildings, with some demanding that the military restore Bolsonaro to power. After the riots, authorities also began to dismantle Bolsonaro’s supporters’ camps that had been set up in the nation’s capital since he lost the election, according to CNN.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has suspended Ibaneis Rocha, the governor of the district that includes Brazil’s capital, for 90 days amid investigations looking into the security breach of government buildings, according to the Times.

The breaches and mass arrests are reminiscent of the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, in which hundreds of supporters of former President Trump stormed the building in an attempt to overturn his loss to President Biden.

A special congressional committee investigated the Capitol insurrection, and more than 950 arrests have been made, according to the Justice Department.

Brazil’s health secretary told CNN that at least 70 people, including journalists and police officers, were injured during the riots.

Biden and other world leaders condemned the attacks and offered their support to the democratic institutions of Brazil and Lula. After hearing reports that Bolsonaro was in Florida seeking refuge from ongoing investigations, multiple U.S. lawmakers called on authorities to extradite the former president back to his home country.