At least four people were arrested Thursday in a nationwide operation for their participation in the anti-democratic protests that took place last December 12 in Brasilia, when Brazil’s president-elect, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was receiving the credentials for his victory at the polls.
By order of Brazil’s Supreme Court, searches have been carried out in up to eight different regions, including Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, as well as four arrests out of the more than 30 arrest warrants that have been issued.
The suspects are accused of damages, criminal association, violent abolition of democratic institutions and coup d’état, in the context of the violent protests that took place on December 12 in the Brazilian capital, which left the scene of a mob attempting to storm a Federal Police station, as well as burned vehicles and assaulted officers.
The future Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino, stressed that Thursday’s police actions were aimed at guaranteeing the rule of law and emphasized that «political motivations» do not legitimize criminal acts such as those of that day. «Freedom of expression does not include terrorism,» he said.
Among those arrested is evangelical pastor Átila Mello, whose wife, Carina Mello, has wondered on her social networks where are President Jair Bolsonaro — on a trip to spend the New Year in the United States — and the Armed Forces, while the people «are persecuted» for «fighting for Brazil and the flag.»
According to the facts narrated by the Police it all started when a group of Bolsonaro supporters tried to access a police station to rescue a man who had been arrested. When their intentions were thwarted, they began to carry out vandalism actions in the capital.
While this was happening, Lula da Siva received from the Superior Electoral Court (TSE) the electoral credentials of his victory at the polls on October 30. Since then, thousands of Bolsonaro’s supporters have been blocking roads and camped at the gates of barracks calling for a coup d’état.
Among the suspects for those acts of vandalism in Brasilia are regulars at the camps that were set up in front of the barracks, according to the police, Brazilian media reported.
«What was known on the 12th is that there was no prior planning. They were people who somehow attended the protests that installed the Army Headquarters,» explained the delegate of the Civil Police, Leonardo Cardoso.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
