CNN Reporter Stunned by Apparent Coup Attempt in Brazil by Bolsonaro Supporters: ‘Looks Very, Very Close’ to Jan. 6

Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stormed several government buildings on Sunday, including the presidential palace, Congress, and the Supreme Court, in an apparent coup attempt. It’s a scene that’s drawing countless comparisons to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.

Last October, Bolsonaro lost his re-election campaign to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who previously served as president from 2003-2010, in a close runoff. Bolsonaro had been endorsed by Trump, and the “Trump of the Tropics” made his own baseless claims of election fraud even before the ballots were counted. Fox News host Tucker Carlson engaged in similar election denialism calling Bolsonaro’s loss “rigged.”

Bolsonaro is currently in Florida, reportedly renting a house near Disney, just south of Orlando. Social media users posted photos and videos of the former Brazilian president eating at a KFC, wandering around a Publix grocery store, and taking selfies with fans.

CNN Senior Latin Affairs Editor Rafael Romo reported on the events in Brazil Sunday afternoon, telling CNN Newsroom anchor Fredricka Whitfield that Bolsonaro’s supporters had breached the Brazilian Supreme Court, presidential palace, and Congress.

The photos and videos coming out of the capital city of Brasilia showed the “Bolsonaristas” yelling at police, knocking down metal barricades, storming into the government buildings as they carried flags, chanted slogans, and committed various acts of vandalism.

https://twitter.com/davidrkadler/status/1612152507727499265?s=46&t=pi-ZpZJEYs3dRC0M-DmRZw

“It’s looking more and more like what happened here in the United States on January 6th two years ago,” said Romo, reporting that there were “so many people that they were able to outnumber the police that were there, and we are getting reports that people were able to get all the way into the congressional building, and that the few public employees that were there were being threatened if they tried to stop those people from getting in there.”

One important difference from the Jan. 6 events in Washington, D.C.: the protesters are not going to encounter any key government officials. The Brazilian Congress is not in session, and the current president was not anywhere near the presidential palace, and the Supreme Court judges were likewise not present.

Romo confirmed that Bolsonaro was still in Florida, having left before Lula would be inaugurated, defying the Brazilian tradition for the outgoing president to take part in the successor’s inauguration to hand over the presidential sash.

“Bolsonaro’s flight to Florida is more than just a disrespectful gesture,” wrote the Miami Herald Editorial Board earlier this week, it’s a “continuation of his damaging refusal to publicly acknowledge Lula’s victory…Passing the presidential sash is a vote of confidence in Brazil’s democracy, where a military dictatorship that took personal freedoms away and tortured and killed dissidents ended less than 40 years ago. It’s an important acknowledgment.”

“We do not know who these protesters are answering to or who organized this protest, but again, it looks very, very close to what happened in the United States on January 6th two years ago,” said Romo.

At this point, the protests did not seem like it would “affect the governance of Brazil,” but if it continued, it would “create a situation where legislators are not going to be able to do their jobs.”

“One big question,” added Romo, was “what happened to the federal district military police that is in charge of making sure a situation like this doesn’t happen.”

The election was close, with Lula winning by less than 2%, but he “won fair and square.”

“The reality is Brazil is a very divided country,” Romo concluded. “A deeply divided country, does that sound familiar?”

“I was going to say this is a broken record,” Whitfield replied. “Just in a different country.”

Jim Acosta brought Romo back on air during his CNN Newsroom hours to provide updates on the events in Brazil, providing additional video footage showing the protesters breaking windows and vandalizing offices, and noting the similarities with Jan. 6.

The situation was “completely out of control,” Romo reported. “We see the police showing up there, but the reality is they didn’t have the numbers to stop all of these people, Jim.”

The U.S. Embassy in Brazil issued a warning to Americans to avoid government buildings in Brasilia, Acosta noted.

Watch the video clips above via CNN.

This is a breaking story and has been updated.

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