Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro offered subdued criticism of his supporters who ransacked the Brazilian Capitol, Presidential Palace and Supreme Court on Sunday.
Bolsonaro compared the attack to left-wing riots that occurred across Brazil in 2013 and 2017, saying any such protests were outside the law. Sunday’s attack saw thousands of pro-Bolsonaro rioters wearing Brazil’s green and yellow colors smash windows and loot the seat of their nation’s government.
“Peaceful demonstrations, within the law, are part of democracy. However, vandalism and the invasion of public buildings like today’s acts, and like those practiced by the left in 2013 and 2017, are an exception,” Bolsonaro wrote in a statement, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Bolsonaro, who never conceded following his defeat by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, denied any role in inciting the violence, however. Bolsonaro also declined to attend Lula’s inauguration.
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Former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro looks on after a press conference two days after being defeated by Lula da Silva in the presidential runoff at Alvorada Palace on Nov 1, 2022 in Brasilia, Brazil.
(Photo by Andressa Anholete/Getty Images)
Supporters of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro demonstrate against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as security forces operate, outside Brazil’s National Congress in Brasilia, Brazil, Jan. 8, 2023.
(REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo)
Police cars are pictured amidst tear gas after being pushed off the road by supporter of Brazil’s far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro who dispute the election of leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, during protests, in Brasilia, Brazil Jan. 8, 2023.
(REUTERS/Antonio Cascio)
Bolsonaro is currently residing in Florida, and some Democrats are pushing to extradite him out of…