Security forces detain 1,500 after Brasília riots

While Jair Bolsonaro may not have been the mastermind behind the invasion, he cannot be separated from it.

Throughout his term, he has repeatedly questioned the efficacy of Brazil's institutions - accusing the Supreme Federal Court of being politically against him, and the voting system of being prone to fraud, despite no evidence to support those claims.

His supporters took on his narrative wholeheartedly.

Since he lost the elections in October he flew off to Florida to avoid having to hand over the presidential sash to Lula - and he's allowed his most ardent supporters to remain angry over a democratic election that he legitimately lost.

Tension has definitely been building. Camps were set up across the country in front of army headquarters, with protesters loyal to Bolsonaro calling for military intervention. And then in December, supporters set fire to Federal Police headquarters in Brasilia. Another supporter was arrested for allegedly trying to set off a bomb before Lula's inauguration on 1 January.

It's no secret that many security forces are more on the side of Bolsonaro than Lula.

For Bolsonaro's supporters, Lula - who was jailed in 2017 for corruption, and spent 18 months in prison before the convictions were annulled - is a corrupt politician who belongs in prison, not the presidential palace.

They falsely accuse him of being a communist, wanting to impose a regime like Venezuela or Cuba. They won't be convinced by anything else - and they won't give up their fight for "democracy" as they call it.

But there's a massive flaw in their argument in wanting freedom and democracy.

They are calling for a very undemocratic military intervention to "save" Brazil - an intervention that despite their best efforts, doesn't look forthcoming.

Former presidential contender and senator Soraya Thronicke has tweeted she’s gathered more support than necessary for the opening of a parliamentary committee inquiry to investigate Sunday’s riots.

She will now need the approval of the president of the Brazilian Senate, but this is very likely to happen according senators I spoke to.

Earlier today she urged colleagues to back her proposal.

“I would like to thank all colleagues who supported the initiative. Democracy is sacred. Many realize it only after they lose it. In our Brazil, it will survive," she said.

The investigation would look into who is responsible for the attacks in Brasília on Sunday.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Old images of a Brazilian man wearing a costume similar to US Capitol rioter Jacob Chansley, also known as "the QAnon Shaman", are being shared online to indicate they were from yesterday’s riot in Brasília.

The images have racked up millions of views on Twitter and other platforms.

But the pictures, showing a man wearing horns and a bearskin head-dress with a Brazilian flag painted on his face, are from a rally by Jair Bolsonaro’s supporters in Sao Paulo in September 2021.

There are currently no images or videos indicating the so-called Brazilian QAnon Shaman’s participated in yesterday’s events.

Chansley, a follower of the baseless QAnon conspiracy theory, became one of the most recognisable figures from the Capitol siege and was sentenced to 41 months in prison.

During breaking news situations, it is easy to be drawn in by social media posts specifically designed to maximise engagement.

But a quick check with freely available tools, such as a reverse image search, could prevent the spread of misleading information.

BBC/KATY WATSONCopyright: BBC/KATY WATSON

I’ve been down to the camp outside the military barracks in São Paulo.

It’s one of many that cropped up after President Lula’s victory in October - and they all have to be dismantled today after Sunday’s events in Brasilia.

Although people are complying, they are doing it begrudgingly - I saw two men move a fridge into the back of the van - they’ve been there so long, there’s a lot of infrastructure to dismantle.

One man, who told me his name was "Warrior" blamed leftist infiltrators for the invasion of Congress.

"We’ve been protesting peacefully here," he said.

Another blamed the "communist press" for negative coverage – shouting down the camera of a journalist who was filming.

Calm may have been restored in Brasília, but the anger and political division is still here.

Getting rid of the camps will not make it go away.

Jair Bolsonaro's wife has taken to social media to confirm earlier reports that the former Brazilian president has been admitted to hospital with abdominal pain.

Bolsonaro "is under observation in the hospital, due to abdominal discomfort stemming from the stabbing attack he suffered in 2018" during his winning presidential campaign, Michelle Bolsonaro wrote on Instagram.

Bolsonaro is currently in an acute care hospital outside Orlando, Florida. As we reported earlier, it's not the first time that he has been in hospital over the campaign stabbing.

Flavio Dino, Minister of Justice, has been delivering a news conference in Brasília.

He was asked whether the federal government can count on the leadership of the police forces.

A representative from the Federal Highway Police's leadership told reporters that he guarantees the government will be able to count on them. Both representatives said they serve the state of Brazil as an entity - rather than particular governments, which are re-elected every four years.

A representative from the Federal Police leadership echoed the statements, saying that as a state institution they would act with firmness and rigour.

Back in October, on the day of the second round of Brazil's presidential elections, officers from the Federal Highway Police were accused of stopping buses carrying voters.

The incident took place in Brazil's north-east, which has a left-wing stronghold and officers were accused of meddling with voter turnout.

Officials say about 1,500 people have been arrested following the storming of the National Congress in Brasília.

The BBC has been inside the government building to see the damage.

Here are a few pictures, taken by São Paulo-based producer Jessica Cruz, showing some of the destruction.

BBCCopyright: BBC

BBCCopyright: BBC

BBCCopyright: BBC

BBCCopyright: BBC

As the press conference continues, Security and Justice Minister Flavio Dino takes questions - he's asked whether more could have been done to prevent the riots.

Dino says that everything possible was done under the constitution.

He says governors in other areas had acted quickly to reinforce their security.

He is asked whether there was a link between large agribusiness - seen as supportive of Bolsonaro - and the funding of the buses that transported the former president's supporters into the capital.

Dino says it is not possible to make this link yet, and it is too soon to say as doing so could lead to generalisations being made.

Asked if there were intelligence failures, Dino said authorities hadn't expected violent acts and said there was a meeting on Friday in which there was an understanding that there would be a blockade.

Dino said Brazil was blessed by God because thankfully no lives were lost in the riots.

He said there was no doubt that it was a Brazilian version of America's January 6 Capitol Hill attack in 2021 - but with more arrests.

BBCCopyright: BBC

The scene here at the palace is surprisingly calm - especially when compared to what Washington DC was like two years ago after the riot that rocked the US Capitol.

On the morning of 7 January 2021, I remember being on Capitol Hill and seeing National Guard armoured vehicles parked all over downtown Washington DC, and young troops from across the country guarding razor wire fences that had been put up overnight.

None of that is immediately visible here in Brasília the day after the riot. A few olive-drab military buses - similar to school buses - were parked outside, and a few soldiers are milling about nearby.

The security presence here is certainly much less in one's face than it was in Washington DC - but that's not to say that Brazilian officials aren't coming down hard on those they think may be responsible.

As I write this, officials are delivering a live update on TV in which they've noted that approximately 1,500 people have been detained.

More from that press conference now, given by Security and Justice Minister Flavio Dino. He says a team is working to ensure the penal responsibility goes beyond those that were there last night.

He says he wants to get to the bottom of who organised it and says there may be preventative arrests.

Dino says several crimes took place, ranging from "golpe de estado" - coup d'tat - to attacks on media personnel.

He says he wants to make sure those who infringed the law are held to account.

BBCCopyright: BBC

We've just arrived at the presidential palace in Brasília where the clean-up is still very much ongoing.

From a distance there is very little indication a riot took place.

But, as we get closer, the scale of the damage from yesterday becomes abundantly clear.

Many of the windows are still broken.

Workers are taking them down and quickly replacing the glass panes.

The same is true of the other government buildings in the same complex.

In some places, pieces of the cobblestone pathways near the building are missing.

An official just explained to me the rioters used the stones are impromptu missiles with which to break the glass.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Flavio Dino, Brazil's Justice and Security Minister, has just begun a press briefing.

He says 40 buses were held by the federal police, after the storming of the Congress, and in one of those buses there was a gun, which he says shows preparation for acts of violence​.

He says that with 209 arrests yesterday, and another 1,200 today, the total is close to 1,500.

Dino says the government is asking for information from the population, and 13,000 emails have been received already.

EPACopyright: EPA

It’s just past 6pm in London, and 3pm in Brasília. Here's a quick recap of where things stand:

• Supporters of the former president, Jair Bolsonaro, stormed Congress and other official buildings including the presidential palace and the Supreme Court on Sunday
• Newly inaugurated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was not there when the invasion happened, but he has since flown back from visiting flood victims in Sao Paulo state to inspect the damage
• Invaders left a trail of destruction leaving windows broken, furniture overturned and flooded parts of the National Congress
• The Brazilian government says at least 1,500 people have been arrested following unrest in the capital, Brasília

• A source close to Jair Bolsonaro has told Reuters news agency that the former Brazilian president has been admitted into hospital in Orlando, Florida, with abdominal pain, but his condition is "not worrying"

• The US says "no official request" has been made from Brazil relating to the visa of former president Bolsonaro
• Meanwhile Bolsonaro supporters have been seen dismantling their camping equipment near to where the army headquarters is located in Brasilia

Stay with us as we bring you more through the evening.

As we've just told you, there are reports that former president Jair Bolsonaro has been admitted to hospital in Florida with abdominal pain.

It's worth noting that he's been in hospital with abdominal pain on several previous occasions since September 2018, when he was stabbed during a campaign rally ahead of the presidential elections that got him into office.

At the time, the far-right politician was the front-runner and he was attacked in a crowd in the south-east state of Minas Gerais.

However, some are raising questions about the timing of this reported hospital admission - federal deputy Andre Janones tweets: "Fearing being arrested, Bolsonaro is admitted to a hospital in the United States, alleging strong abdominal pain."

Sources close to Jair Bolsonaro have told Reuters news agency and O Globo newspaper that the former Brazilian president has been admitted into hospital in Orlando, Florida.

The reports say Bolsonaro was admitted with abdominal pain, but a source close to his family told Reuters his condition is "not worrying".

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

After yesterday’s unrest in Brasília, some of the top social media influencers in Brazil have mobilised to identify the rioters, asking their followers to share pictures and videos of those who were involved in the storming of government buildings.

One of them is Felipe Neto, a Brazilian Youtuber and one of the loudest critics of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro. He wants his 16 million Twitter followers to share “screenshots that show the faces of those involved in the terrorist invasion of the National Congress”.

A lot of people have noticed similarities to Sedition Hunters, an online group that helped find those who attacked the US Capitol two years ago.

Fact-checking news outlet Agencia Lupa has also set up a database to gather “anti-democratic posts in recent days on social networks or messaging applications” that led to the riots.

On its website, it says its intention is “to understand how the acts of vandalism seen in Brasília were organised.”

A joint statement has been issued at a North America summit in Mexico City, with the leaders of Canada, the US and Mexico condemning what they describe as "attacks on Brazil's democracy".

US President Joe Biden, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated they all "stand with Brazil, as it safeguards its democratic institutions".

"Our governments support the free will of the people of Brazil," the three leaders said in their statement.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has said he did not instigate the unrest in Brasília on Sunday, and has always respected the constitution and the rule of law.

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Brazil's currency and stocks have been falling after the storming of government buildings in the capital Brasília by supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro.

The Real currency has lost 1.05% in value against the dollar, while the benchmark Sao Paulo stock market index has retreated 0.35% in afternoon trading.

Economist Andre Perfeito told BBC Brazil “an institutional crisis is taking place and this should have an effect on the price of financial assets”.

“It is reasonable to assume that the perception of risk rises and thus interest rates should rise with effects on the stock exchange and other assets”.

“The situation will probably be overcome, but it will be tense days in the markets and in the nation”, he added.