MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolsonaro regrets the riots in Brasília

Some of his followers suggested Bolsonaro not to return to Brazil

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday that he regretted the assault on the headquarters of the three branches of government staged in Brasilia by a group of his followers on Jan. 8.

Bolsonaro made those remarks at the doorstep of the house where he is residing in the US State of Florida as he came out to have a chat with bypassers that was caught on video and uploaded to social media. The former head of state also admitted he had made mistakes during his administration.

“I regret what happened on the 8th, something incredible, but in my government, people learned what politics is, they knew the powers, they began to value freedom,” he said. “I talked to some people about freedom and they told me that it was like the sun, that it rises every day, but it is not like that; we believe in Brazil.” he added while insisting the Jan. 8 events were “unacceptable.”

“In four years, every day was Monday. Are there some holes? Of course, there are. We make some mistakes at home, let alone in the government. But, at home, we know who is responsible. It's always us, the husbands,” Bolsonaro acknowledged as his supporters replied that “nobody is perfect.”

Bolsonaro also highlighted his measures regarding ownership of firearms, which was made easier, and said that under him unemployment was down while the economy was going up.

Bolsonaro, who is under investigation for his possible role in the Jan. 8 assaults, has just admitted in his Twitter profile that he is no longer president of Brazil.

In Florida, some of his supporters advised him not to return to his country, where he is under investigation for allegedly masterminding the Jan. 8 uprising when some of his followers invaded and ransacked the buildings of the Presidency, Congress, and the Supreme Court.

Anderson Torres, Justice Minister under him and Security Secretary of the Federal District (Brasilia) until Jan. 8 has already been incarcerated for allegedly turning a blind eye on the uprising. At the time of the events, Torres was in Florida but chose to fly back to Brasilia to handle his own defense.

Meanwhile, Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Ricardo Lewandowski Monday ruled against releasing those arrested after the Jan. 8 riots, Agencia Brasil reported. Citing Court jurisprudence, Lewandowski understood that he cannot grant a writ of habeas corpus against fellow Justice Alexandre De Moraes' decision to have all those camping outside the Army barracks in Brasilia on the day of the attacks arrested.

The requests for freedom were filed by the defense of businessman Eduardo Zeferino Englert, from Santa Maria (RS). The lawyers alleged that he has no connection with the financing of the acts, that he paid for his bus ticket with his own resources to participate peacefully in the demonstration, and that he arrived in Brasília after the vandalism acts. Another defendant argued that she was in the camp in front of the barracks, but she only participated in religious activities and was not at the Ministries Esplanade, according to Agencia Brasil. These are just two of the 1,418 people arrested, who were sent to the Papuda prison and to the women's Colmeia penitentiary, both in the Federal District.