Bolsonaro denounces violence after supporters storm Brazil's govt buildings

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro denounced the "depredations and invasions of public buildings" in Brasilia, after his supporters stormed key government buildings Sunday, reported CNN.

Bolsonaro tweeted that "peaceful demonstrations, respecting the law, are part of democracy."

"However, depredations and invasions of public buildings as occurred today, as well as those practiced by the left in 2013 and 2017, escape the rule," he continued.

"Throughout my mandate, I have always been acting according to the Constitution, respecting and defending the laws, democracy, transparency and our sacred freedom," added Bolsonaro.

Supporters of Brazilian far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro who refuse to accept his electoral defeat have stormed the presidential palace, Congress, and the Supreme Court in the capital, Brasilia.

Videos on social media showed Bolsonaro supporters smashing windows and furniture in the National Congress and Supreme Court buildings on Sunday, reported Al Jazeera.

They climbed onto the roof of the Congress building, where Brazil's Senate and Chamber of Deputies conduct their legislative business, unfurling a banner that read "intervention" and an apparent appeal to Brazil's military.

Images on TV channel Globo News also showed protesters roaming the presidential palace, many of them wearing green and yellow - the colours of the Brazilian flag, which have also come to symbolize the Bolsonaro government.

Security forces used tear gas in an effort to push back the demonstrators with local media estimating about 3,000 people were involved in the incident, reported Al Jazeera.

The siege, which lasted a little over three hours, comes just a week after the inauguration of Bolsonaro's leftist rival, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Around 3,000 supporters of Brazil's far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro broke into Brazil's Congress building, the presidential palace in a dramatic protest against President Silva's inauguration last week, who defeated Bolsonaro in a runoff election on October 30.

Bolsonaro challenged the election results and has not explicitly conceded, though he said he would cooperate with the transition of power.

Responding to the invasion, Lula declared a federal security intervention in Brasilia that will remain in place until the end of the month.

Meanwhile, police have since cleared the massive crowds from government buildings and made at least 400 arrests, according to CNN Brasil and a local official.

At least 400 people have been arrested after pro-Bolsonaro supporters stormed key government buildings in Brazil's capital, said Ibaneis Rocha, the governor of the country's Federal District.

Rocha tweeted that those arrested "will pay for the crimes committed."

"We continue working to identify all the others who participated in these terrorist acts this afternoon in the Federal District. We continue to work to restore order," Rocha added.

The three main government buildings -- the Supreme Court, the presidential palace and the congressional building -- involved in today's breach have been cleared of protesters, police said Sunday, according to CNN Brasil.

Moreover, Justice Minister Flavio Dino said that Brazil's government will adopt more measures aimed at strengthening the capital of Brasilia.

Dino told reporters "there are still people on the internet saying that they are going to continue with terrorist acts. And they will not be able to destroy Brazilian democracy. They won't."

He also described Sunday's events in Brasilia as "a coup," reported CNN.

"We regret that the heritage of the Brazilian people has been squandered in a vile way. This is not about the continuity of the electoral process, it is about coup d'etat, terrorism," the minister said while adding that "we are not going to accept the path of criminality to carry out a political struggle in Brazil. Criminals will be treated like criminals."

Dino went on to say "this will never happen again in this country because there is unity among the institutions to guarantee social peace and act against terrorism."

In the latest development, Facebook's parent company Meta declared the unrest in Brazil a "violating event" on Sunday, adding it would "remove content that supports or praises" protesters who breached government buildings, reported CNN.

"In advance of the election, we designated Brazil as a temporary high-risk location and have been removing content calling for people to take up arms or forcibly invade Congress, the Presidential palace and other federal buildings," Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told CNN.

"We're also designating this as a violating event, which means we will remove content that supports or praises these actions. We're actively monitoring the situation and will continue removing content that violates our policies."

Meta has in the past designated violent events, like terrorist attacks, school shootings, and the January 6 attack on the US Capitol as so-called "violating events." The policy allows the company to expedite content removal in these circumstances.