Brazilian authorities investigating blasts in capital as terrorist plot

MEXICO CITY

Brazil’s federal police said Thursday that two explosions outside government buildings in the capital were not an isolated attack and are being investigated as a terrorist plot by far-right extremist groups.

A man set off two explosions in Brasilia's Three Powers Plaza in a failed attack late Wednesday.

The man, who had been originally thought to be acting alone, drove a bomb-laden car towards the Supreme Court. Fuses in the car caught fire, causing an initial blast that failed to set off attached explosives.

He then exited the vehicle carrying explosives and a detonator and ran toward the court entrance in an attempt to break into the building. Seconds later, another blast occurred, killing him.

Federal police director Andrei Passos Rodrigues said that contrary to what was initially reported, the man behind the explosions -- Francisco Wanderley Luiz, a 59-year-old member of the far-right Partido Liberal (PL) party of former President Jair Bolsonaro -- did not act alone and was possibly assisted by extremist groups.

"We understand that yesterday's incident is not an isolated event but is connected to several other actions," Rodrigues said at a news conference.

"I ordered the opening of a police investigation and its referral to the Supreme Court due to the initial hypotheses of acts that violate the democratic rule of law and also of terrorist acts. We are handling the case under these two aspects. Therefore, our counter-terrorism unit is acting directly," he added.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes denounced the attack, saying it was the result of the political polarization that has gripped the country in recent years, directly pointing to Bolsonaro for igniting the volatile political climate.

“What happened yesterday is not isolated from the context. God willing, it was an isolated act. But in context, it is something that started a long time ago, when the famous ‘office of hate' was spreading hate speech against the institutions, the judiciary and especially the Supreme Court,” said Moraes.

"This grew bigger and bigger, increasing the discrediting of the institutions and culminating on Jan. 8."

The “office of hate” is the public name given to the collaborators and advisors of Bolsonaro who, through the internet and social media, have spread disinformation and hate speech against current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his followers as well as direct attacks on journalists and politicians.

Moraes has been relentless in his prosecution against Bolsonaro and his loyalists for a raid against government buildings on Jan. 8, when Bolsonaro's followers attempted to subvert the election of Lula.

Luiz ran for city council in 2020 under the banner of Bolsonaro's party.

According to authorities, he consistently posted threats online against the Supreme Court and Lula's followers.

The federal police also questioned Luiz's ex-wife and said that he wanted to kill Moraes and “whoever else was there."

Bolsonaro released a statement on social media Thursday denouncing the attack, calling it a "sad episode."

He added that dialogue was needed for "the defense of democracy and liberty."