Explosives and timer found on suspect’s body after attack on Brazil’s top court
By Julia Vargas Jones, Helen Regan and Mia Alberti, CNN
(CNN) — A man killed himself while detonating explosives after trying to enter Brazil’s Supreme Court, authorities said Wednesday, in an attack on the political heart of the country that prompted the evacuation of court staff and legislators in the capital Brasilia.
Officers found explosives and a timer attached to the man’s body and are conducting an X-Ray assessment to determine whether there is further danger from possible explosives on his belt, according to a military police spokesperson.
The Three Powers Plaza, home to all three branches of Brazil’s government, was blocked off Wednesday evening after two explosions were detonated.
The suspected attacker was affiliated with former President Jair Bolsonaro’s right-wing party, according to CNN affiliate CNN Brasil. Francisco Wanderley Luiz, unsuccessfully ran for local council elections in 2020, in the southern city of Rio do Sul, CNN Brasil said on Thursday, quoting Federal Police.
Police found messages on Luiz’s social media criticizing and threatening state authorities, CNN Brasil reported.
It came after police were investigating the explosions as a possible suicide attack, as there were no other suspects or people potentially involved, according to Celina Leão, vice-governor of the Federal District.
Leão said earlier that one line of investigation being pursued is this was a “lone wolf” attack.
The plaza was the site of mass protests and attacks on January 8, 2023, when supporters of Bolsonaro stormed the Supreme Court, Congress, and presidential offices.
Police investigation
The first explosion originated in a car at 7:30 p.m. (5.30 p.m. ET), Leão told reporters late Wednesday. CNN Brasil earlier reported the blast took place on a street next to Annex 4 of the nearby Congress.
The suspect then tried to enter the Supreme Court building, but was unable to, and a second explosion was detonated outside the door, Leão added. There were no other victims of the attack, she said.
A car found at the scene belonged to the suspected perpetrator, CNN Brasil reported, citing local police.
Police also found a backpack that could also contain explosives nearby, and more explosives were found near a traffic cone in the area, military police spokesperson Broocke said. Earlier, CNN Brasil reported an eyewitness saw a man with a backpack near the Supreme Court.
CNN Brasil said the court’s justices and Congress had been evacuated following the explosions.
Attorney General Jorge Messias condemned the attack, saying federal police would “investigate the explosions in the perimeter of the Three Powers Plaza with rigor and urgency.”
“I strongly condemn the attacks against the Supreme Federal Court and the House of Representatives. I express my solidarity with the ministers and parliamentarians,” he said on X. “We need to understand the motivation behind these attacks, as well as to restore peace and security as quickly as possible.”
‘Hate speech against institutions’
The incident comes five days before Brazil gets ready to host global leaders for the Group of 20 (G20) major economies in Rio de Janeiro. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is scheduled to meet Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for a state visit in Brasilia on November 20, and US President Joe Biden is set to visit the Amazon rainforest on Sunday before attending the G20.
There has been growing discontentment with the court as it has broadened its authority over cases involving political extremism, disinformation, and threats to democratic order.
While some view this as essential to protecting Brazil’s democracy, critics have decried it as judicial overreach aimed at curtailing conservative voices.
A Supreme Court judge warned that the attack was symptomatic of a broader effort to instigate “hate speech against institutions,” in stark comments made from the country’s highest court.
“That has been growing bigger under a false blanket of a criminal use of freedom of speech – offend, threaten, push,” Justice Alexandre de Moraes said on Thursday. “In no place in the world is this freedom of speech: This is a crime.”
In August, the Supreme Court ordered the suspension of social media site X nationwide after billionaire CEO Elon Musk refused to name a legal representative in the country. The order escalated a monthslong feud over free speech, and outraged Bolsonaro supporters. In October, the court cleared the platform to resume service for complying with court ruling.
This story has been updated.
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