Image: Reuters.
Thousands of supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro held protests at the country's Supreme Court and the presidential palace in the capital on Sunday.
The demonstration comes a week after the inauguration of Bolsonaro's leftist rival and former President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The protesters bypassed security barricades, climbed on roofs, broke windows, and invaded all three buildings, believed to be largely empty at the weekend, CBS reports.
Image: Reuters.
Some of them called on the military to intervene to either restore Bolsonaro to power or oust Lula from the presidency.
According to the report, hundreds of the protesters were arrested as security agents took hours to reestablish control of the buildings on Brasilia’s massive Three Powers Square.
Videos showed protesters roaming the presidential palace, many dressed in the green and yellow colors of Brazil's national flag which has also become the symbol of the nation’s conservative movement.
Image: Reuters.
Former president Bolsonaro has refused to accept his election defeat.
In a news conference from Sao Paulo state, the newly sworn-in President Lula accused Bolsonaro of encouraging the revolt by those he called “fascist fanatics.”
Lula read a newly signed decree directing the federal government to take control of security in the federal district.
“There is no precedent for what they did and these people need to be punished,” Lula said.
Politics and Opinion.
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