MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazilian authorities still looking for Brasilia rioters

Violence broke out as a pro-Bolsonaro protester was arrested on Judge De Moraes' orders

Brazilian authorities investigating Monday's riots in Brasilia in support of incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro said the culprits will be identified and prosecuted.

After Bolsonarist demonstrators promoted acts of violence in downtown Brasilia, setting buses and cars on fire, the Civil Police is still trying to identify those involved in order to hold them accountable.

“These acts, committed by isolated groups, are being investigated by the Civil Police of the Federal District, and the participants, once identified, will be held responsible. The Federal Police [PF], in turn, will investigate the crimes related to acts against the institution and crimes of a federal nature,” said the Public Safety Secretariat of the Federal District, in a statement released Tuesday.

At least eight vehicles, including five buses, were set on fire during the confusion that started Monday evening, after a group of people tried to invade the headquarters of the Federal Police (PF) in protest against the arrest of indigenous José Acácio Serere Xavante, ordered by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Alexandre De Moraes, at the request of the Attorney General of the Republic (PGR).

Former candidate for mayor of Campinápolis (MT), Serere Xavante portrays himself as one of the leaders of the Parabubure Indigenous Land and, in videos shared on social media, he questions the electoral process and Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva's victory.

At the request of the Attorney General's Office (PGR), De Moraes ordered Xavante's arrest on suspicion of the crime of threatening, persecuting, and attacking the democratic rule of law.

Despite a strong police deployment, no one was arrested because, according to the Secretariat of Public Safety, the Military Police action focused on the dispersion of people in order to “reduce damage and prevent an even greater escalation of tempers.”

According to the secretariat, policing is still reinforced in the central area of Brasilia, especially around the hotel where Lula is staying. The region is also controlled by video surveillance cameras.

(Source: Agencia Brasil)