Brazilian security forces mounted a massive operation Sunday after hundreds of supporters of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro stormed Congress, the presidential palace and the Supreme Court in what President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva condemned as a "fascist" attack.
After hours of all-out chaos at the seat of power in Brasilia, reminiscent of the January 6, 2021 invasion of the US Capitol building by supporters of then-president Donald Trump, a Bolsonaro ally, security forces managed to reclaim the Congress building in the evening, AFP reporters said.
A massive operation was still underway to evacuate the demonstrators from the Planalto presidential palace and the Supreme Court, with security forces using riot police on horseback, water cannon and tear-gas bombs fired from helicopters to fight them back.
