Brazil President Lula, top officials decry Sunday riots as ‘terrorist acts’

Brazil riots: Images and videos flooded social media platforms showing thousands of pro-Bolsonaro supporters donning Brazil's yellow and green flag as they ran riot in the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court in Brasilia on Sunday.

In a rare joint statement, Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, along with leaders of both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court Chief Justice, on Monday condemned the “terrorist acts” by far-right supporters of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro when they stormed several government building and invaded the seat of power on Sunday evening.

Supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro demonstrate against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, outside Brazil’s National Congress in capital city Brasilia.

The statement, released by Lula on Twitter, underlined that the heads of the three branches of government “reject the terrorist acts and criminal, coup-mongering vandalism that occurred” in capital city Brasilia, news agency AFP reported. “We call on society to maintain serenity, in defense of peace and democracy in our homeland. The country needs normality, respect and work for the progress and social justice of the nation,” the statement read.

Images and videos shared on social media showed thousands of pro-Bolsonaro supporters donning Brazil's yellow and green flag as they ran riot in the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court in Brasilia on Sunday.

Facebook parent Meta and Google's video platform YouTube are now removing any content supporting or praising the weekend ransacking of Brazil's government buildings. “We designated Brazil as a temporary high-risk location and have been removing content calling for people to take up arms…” read a statement by Meta.

The attack came days after a protest against Brazil's newly inducted president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva's inauguration last week.

The area around the Parliament building in Brasilia was cordoned off by authorities as hundreds of Jair Bolsonaro backers broke through, marched up ramps and gathered on a roof.

So far, more than 1,200 people have been detained, the justice ministry’s press office said Monday, as per news agency Associated Press. But police were reportedly noticeably slow to react - even after the arrival of more than 100 buses - leading many to ponder whether authorities had either simply ignored numerous warnings, underestimated the protesters' strength, or been somehow complicit.

World leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden, have condemned the violence.