Newly emerged footage from the violent protests at the Brazilian capital showed a police car driving through crowds of demonstrators at dangerous speeds.
In the frightening footage, a Military Police car could be seen swerving off of a path and tearing across a lawn outside the National Congress building in Brasília. The car sped and swerved through throngs of demonstrators, who could be heard screaming and seen fleeing in terror from the rampaging car. It is unclear whether anybody was hurt in the incident.
Other scenes from the day's chaos included a clip of a demonstrator apparently defecating on a desk inside a government chamber, and scores of protestors being led out of the National Congress building in handcuffs after being arrested by police. As of now, more than 400 people have been arrested.
The supporters of far-right ex-President Bolsonaro invaded Brazil's National Congress building, the Supreme Court, presidential palace on Sunday, and called for the military to overthrow newly elected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva after Bolsonaro questioned the integrity of the election.
United States President Joe Biden condemned demonstrators who stormed Brazil's capital in protest of the nation's presidential election results, calling the incident an 'assault on democracy.'
In a Tweet on Sunday, Biden said supporters of Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro were attacking the peaceful transfer of power in the nation, and cast his support behind President da Silva.
'I condemn the assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil,' Biden wrote. 'Brazil’s democratic institutions have our full support and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined. I look forward to continuing to work with @lulaoficial.'
President da Silva has branded protestors who stormed Congress as 'vandals and fascists' - while the startling images from the day looked eerily similar to Trump supporters' insurrection at the US capital, which happened nearly to the day two years ago.
President da Silva - said there was 'no precedent in the history of our country' and called the violence the 'acts of vandals and fascists'. He is currently on an official state trip in São Paulo.
He blamed Bolsonaro for the invasion, and added that there was a lack of security in the capital which had not helped with the protests.
Left-wing da Silva has only been in power for a week, after being inaugurated a week ago as supporters of the former president claim the election was stolen.
According to President da Silva, all of the rioters will be identified and punished for their actions - as well as pledging to find those who have paid for the movement.
Over 400 protesters had been arrested after police finally cleared the government buildings, Brazilian authorities said.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called the protests 'attacks on Brazil's Presidency, Congress, and Supreme Court' in a Tweet Sunday afternoon.
'Using violence to attack democratic institutions is always unacceptable. We join @lulaoficial in urging an immediate end to these actions,' he added.
Speaking during a visit to the US southern border Sunday, Biden said 'it's outrageous' when questioned about the riots earlier Sunday.
No comments:
Post a Comment