Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered the 90-day suspension of Brasília Governor Ibaneis Rocha late on Sunday.
The ruling followed the storming of government buildings in the heart of the federal capital, and the ensuing vandalism of the presidential palace and Congress and Supreme Court headquarters. Local authorities under Mr. Rocha’s command failed to respond to the threats from pro-Bolsonaro groups — and were accused by multiple political brokers of condoning the acts of violence by way of their omission.
On Sunday afternoon, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had placed the capital’s security apparatus under federal intervention until the end of the month — making his deputy justice minister responsible for commanding local police forces.
Rafael Mafei, a law professor at the University of São Paulo, writes that the Brazilian penal code foresees the suspension of public agents “when there is fear that [the office] is being used for penal infractions.”
Besides the governor’s suspension from office, Justice Moraes ordered the “total eviction and dissolution” of campsites set up in front of Army garrisons in different capitals. These camps have been used by the far-right to urge the Armed Forces to stage a coup.
In the decision, he also ordered the arrest in flagrante of all participants in Sunday’s unrest for committing various crimes such as terrorism, criminal association, inciting a coup, and promoting the violent abolition of the rule of law.
After storming public buildings, thousands of radicals gathered in a campsite outside of the Army headquarters in Brasília. They were protected by the Army Police, which used armored vehicles to prevent local police from reaching and dismantling the campsite.
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