46 injured & six in serious condition after rioters storm Brazil's government offices

As many as 46 people have been injured after supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stormed major government buildings in the capital Brasilia on Sunday. Out of the injured people, six required emergency medical care.

According to a CNN report, police officials took control of the buildings in the evening and arrested as many as 400 protestors. At least 12 other journalists were also attacked during the riots, reported the Union of Professional Journalists in the Federal District.

Brazil SC orders crackdown on pro-Bolsonaro mob

On Monday, Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes ordered a military crackdown across the country within 24 hours to stop the ongoing protest. The Brazilian Court also directed authorities to arrest the protestors. "Absolutely nothing justifies the existence of full camps of terrorists, sponsored by various financiers, with the complacency of civil and military authorities in total subversion of necessary respect for the Federal Constitution," reads the order issued by the Supreme Court. The commander of the armed forces, police, and defence minister have been strictly ordered to dismantle the protestors. Moraes ordered that all the highways in the country must be cleared on Monday, January 9, 2023.

The Supreme Court has further ordered the removal of the country's Federal District. According to a CNN report, Federal District Governor Ibaneis Rocha has been suspended for three months following the massive protest that erupted in Brasilia. On the other hand, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva termed the incident "barbaric" and called the protestors "fascists." "These people are everything that is abominable in politics: to invade the government headquarters, the headquarters of Congress, and the headquarters of the Supreme Court like true vandals, destroying everything in their path," Lula said.

He warned that people who did this would be "found and punished." These remarks were made by the president at the press conference in Araraquara, Brazil, where he had been surveying areas damaged by heavy floods. Meanwhile, Bolsonaro also responded to the ongoing unrest and said that his supporters had crossed a line. 

Image: AP