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Mass arrests continue as Brazil leaders condemn ‘terrorist acts’

Hundreds of soldiers and police mobilized to dismantle an improvised camp outside the army's headquarters in Brasilia.

Reuters

Camp set by supporters was dismounted in front of the Army Headquarters, in Brasilia, Brazil

Brazilian security forces cleared protest camps on Monday and arrested 1,500 people as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva condemned "acts of terrorism" after a mob stormed government buildings, causing chaos on the capital.

About 3,000 supporters of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro had set up tents, which were used as a base for protesters who ran riot inside the presidential palace, Congress and Supreme Court for around four hours on Sunday.

Lula, who took office on January 1 after a bitterly divisive election win over Bolsonaro, returned to work in the pillaged presidential palace, where reporters saw the wreckage that remained of the previous day's havoc: trashed artwork and offices, shattered windows and doors, broken glass strewn across the floor, and furniture dragged into a reflecting pool.

Lula, 77, who previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, met with the leaders of both houses of Congress and the chief justice of the Supreme Court, and joined them in condemning what many called the South American country's version of the US Capitol riots in Washington two years ago.

"The three powers of the republic, the defenders of democracy and the constitution, reject the terrorist acts and criminal, coup-mongering vandalism that occurred," they said in a joint statement.

Bolsonaro, who narrowly lost the October elections, meanwhile said on Twitter that he had been hospitalised in Florida with abdominal pains stemming from a near-fatal knife attack when he was campaigning for the presidency in 2018.

'Unwavering support'

Lula accepted an invitation to meet with President Joe Biden next month in Washington, US officials said.

Biden has conveyed "unwavering" support to Lula in a phone call and invited him to the White House next month.

"President Biden conveyed the unwavering support of the United States for Brazil's democracy," the White House said in a statement on Monday, adding that Biden, who is in Mexico City for a summit, invited Lula to visit him in "early February."

Investigation continues

Justice Minister Flavio Dino told reporters that police have begun tracking those who paid for the buses that transported protesters to the capital.

Speaking at a news conference, he said rioters apparently intended for their displays to create a domino effect nationwide, and that they could be charged with a range of offences, including organised crime, staging a coup and violent abolition of the democratic rule of law.

"We think that the worst is over," Dino said, adding that the government is now focused on punishing lawbreakers and those who enabled them.

"We cannot and will not compromise in fulfilling our legal duties, because this fulfilment is essential so such events do not repeat themselves."