Supporters of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro attacked the federal police headquarters on Monday amid clashes following his October election defeat, The Washington Post reports.
Police were able to beat back the attackers in Brasilia before they were able to enter the building.
The attack followed weeks of protests at military bases and highways over the defeat. Bolsonaro’s supporters have called for the military to block President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office on January 1.
The attack on Monday came after Brazil formally certified the results.
The attack occurred after the country’s Supreme Court ordered the arrest of Bolsonaro supporter Jose Acacio Serere Xavante, accusing him of summoning armed people to block the certification of the results.
Bolsonaro won’t concede:
Bolsonaro, like former U.S. President Donald Trump, refused to concede the election, though he has not urged his supporters to fight.
Bolsonaro asked supporters to stop blocking highways but urged them to protest elsewhere.
“That is welcome and a part of democracy,” he said.
But on Friday, in his first public statement in 40 days, Bolsonaro urged his supporters to take matters into their own hands.
“You decide my future and where I will go. … You decide which way the armed forces go,” he said. “Nothing is lost.”
Failed lawsuit:
Bolsonaro allies last month filed a lawsuit challenging his defeat, claiming irregularities in the vote count.
A judge fined them $4.7 million for bringing “bad faith litigation.”
"The complete bad faith of the plaintiff’s bizarre and illicit request ... was proven, both by the refusal to add to the initial petition and the total absence of any evidence of irregularities and the existence of a totally fraudulent narrative of the facts," the judge said.
Lula’s team this week filed a lawsuit against Bolsonaro and two of his sons for abuse of power by attacking the elections and trying to build support for a coup.
