Two explosions occurred near the Supreme Federal Court on Wednesday night (13), prompting the evacuation of the area and killing one person, the attacker himself. According to authorities, no one else was injured.
The Brazilian police consider the incident an act of terrorism.
“We understand that yesterday’s episode is not an isolated event, but rather connected to several other actions that the Federal Police has been investigating recently,” added the Federal Police’s director-general.
The attacker, Francisco Wanderley Luiz, ran for city councilor for the PL party, associated with former president Jair Bolsonaro, representing the city of Rio do Sul in Santa Catarina in the 2020 elections.
Security camera footage from the STF shows Francisco throwing explosive devices towards a sculpture in front of the Court building, and then igniting another on his own body. Moments earlier, the man’s car also exploded in the parking lot near Annex IV of the Chamber of Deputies.
The police reported that explosive devices were found in the house that Francisco rented in Ceilândia, about 30 kilometers from downtown Brasília.
For STF Minister Alexandre de Moraes, the episode is a consequence of the political polarization that has taken over the country in recent years and what he called the “hate cabinet” established during Jair Bolsonaro’s government.
“What happened yesterday is not an isolated fact. God willing, it is an isolated act, but in context, it is something that started back then, when the infamous ‘hate cabinet’ spread hate speech against institutions, the Judiciary, and especially the Supreme Federal Court. Against the Supreme ministers and their families. This has been growing, accumulating, increasing the discredit of institutions, resulting in January 8,” said the minister.
According to Moraes, the attack committed by Francisco reinforces the need to eliminate any possibility of amnesty for those convicted for the January 8 attacks against the headquarters of the Brazilian government, as well as the need for regulation of social networks.
Source: The New York Times and Agência Brasil