Good morning! We do not usually issue our daily briefings on public holidays — but this Independence Day is a special case, as Brazil is braced to find out how anti-democratic protests egged on by President Jair Bolsonaro will unfold.
“Tomorrow we’ll storm the Supreme Court”
By 8 pm on Monday, supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro broke through police barricades and invaded the Esplanade of Ministries in Brasília with trucks and cars. The area had been closed off by law enforcement, but security personnel gave little resistance to impede the crowd. “We’ve just stormed in. The police couldn’t stop the people,” said one demonstrator who filmed the whole thing and posted it on social media. “Tomorrow we’ll storm the Supreme Court.”
- Intelligence agents charged with securing the Supreme Court consider the threat of violence — and potential use of firearms — as “severe.”
- After a request by Chief Justice Luiz Fux to Brasília Governor Ibaneis Rocha, police presence in the capital was enhanced. Justices had their personal security detail increased and were advised not to go to public places today.
- At around 3 am this morning, a second wave of trucks tried to approach the Three Powers Square,...