The general director of the Federal Police of BrazilAndrei Rodrigues, associated this Thursday the attack with explosives in front of the headquarters of the Supreme Court, in Brasilia, which ended with the suicide of the aggressor, to “active extremist groups.”
Rodrigues said in a press conference that he is working with the hypothesis that it is a “terrorist” action which apparently sought to attack the judges of the Supreme Court with the ultimate objective of “violently abolishing the democratic rule of law.”
He assured that it was a “premeditated” and possibly “planned” attack for months.
“It is not an isolated event and may be connected to other ongoing investigations,” among them with the invasion of the headquarters of the three powers, including that of the Supreme Court, which occurred on January 8, 2023, when thousands of activists incited a coup. of State against the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The attacker was identified as Francisco Wanderley Luizknown as Tiu França, a militant and former candidate for councilor of the Liberal Party (PL), a formation led by former president Jair Bolsonaro, who today regretted and repudiated what happened.
He was 59 years old, he was a locksmith by profession, a native of the state of Santa Catarina (south) and He had been in Brasilia for “three or four months.”
The events occurred on Wednesday night, when the man tried to access the Supreme Court and, failing to do so, decided throwing explosive devices in front of the headquarters of the highest judicial body in the country, until at a certain point he took his own life.
The attacker he was wearing a belt with more explosiveswhich were only deactivated last morning, and “a fire extinguisher loaded with gasoline that simulated a flamethrower.”
Previously, near that point, he remotely activated a set of fireworks that he left in a vehicle located in the parking lot of a building attached to the Chamber of Deputies.
At that location, authorities also found a trailer with explosive material inside and a buried box yet to be analyzed.
Also, More homemade bombs were found in the property he had rented in Ceilândiaon the outskirts of the Federal District of Brasilia.
At least one of them was hidden in a drawer and exploded when a Police robot was inspecting the house, without any officer being injured.
According to Rodrigues, on the walls and mirrors of that home There were written messages that allude to the episode of January 8, 2023.
Wanderley Luiz was in the Brazilian capital those days, although it is still unknown if he participated in the violent acts that day.
“This was not something planned from one day to the next. There are devices with a detonator, a flamethrower, “There was a whole preparation that points to a link with extremist groups” who spread their proclamations on social networks, Rodrigues pointed out.
“We still do not know the motivation for the crime,” said the director of the Federal Police. Although he stated that it was an “individual” action, he warned that “extremists are active.”
(With information from AFP and EFE)
