Brazilian security personnel and supporters of outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro clashed on Monday near the capital’s police headquarters, following the arrest of an Indigenous chief involved in recent protests.
The unrest in Brasilia began after the Federal Supreme Court (STF) ordered Jose Acacio Serere Xavante to be detained for 10 days over charges he was threatening the “democratic rule of law.”
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Law enforcement officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets in an attempt to disperse the protesters, some of whom were wearing yellow Brazilian national team jerseys, carrying wooden sticks and throwing stones, an AFP photographer saw.
Authorities said the clashes broke out after some of the demonstrators attempted to break into the police compound and free Serere Xavante.
In the center of the capital, several cars and buses were attacked and set on fire.
Around 11:00 pm (0200 GMT), more than two hours after the clashes began, Brazilian Justice Minister Anderson Tores tweeted that “everything will be investigated and clarified,” noting that the situation was “normalizing.”
Officials ordered the closing of a major avenue as a preventive measure and said that security was being reinforced at the hotel where President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is staying.
On Wednesday, the leftist Lula received official documentation that he is president-elect, formally closing the intensely polarized electoral process between him and right-wing Bolsonaro.
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