Jair Bolsonaro supporters storm Brazil's presidential palace, Congress

Images shared on social media showed thousands of people, in Brazil's yellow and green flag, entering the Congress building.

Supporters of former Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro stormed into the country's presidential palace, Congress and ministries' building, it was reported. Images shared on social media showed thousands of people, in Brazil's yellow and green flag, entering the Congress building in the capital city Brasilia, Associated Press reported.

Jair Bolsonaro Supporters: Security forces operate as supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro demonstrate .(Reuters)

The attack came after a protest against the Brazil's president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva's inauguration last week by the supports of the former president. Following the breach, the area around the parliament building in Brasilia had been cordoned off by authorities, AFP reported adding that hundreds of Jair Bolsonaro backers broke through, marched up ramps and gathered on a roof.

The startling images on social media were similar to the January 6, 2021 storming of the US Capitol building by supporters of then-president Donald Trump, who has been a Jair Bolsonaro ally.

In order to quell the protests, security forces used tear gas. Jair Bolsonaro was narrowly defeated by Lula in the second round of the presidential election in October last year. He left Brazil in December and traveled to Florida in the US where Donald Trump now lives.