Brazil’s Federal Police are investigating potential connections between a failed suicide bombing in Brasília and the January 2023 riot against government institutions, according to Andrei Rodrigues, the General Director of Brazil’s Federal Police. Rodrigues revealed at a press conference that evidence found in the home of the suspected bomber suggests a direct link to the events of the 8 January 2023 attack on government buildings.
The suspect, identified as 59-year-old Francisco Wanderley Luiz, was killed in the explosion outside Brazil’s Supreme Court late on Wednesday night. Authorities have retrieved Luiz’s phone, which they believe will provide “extreme relevance” in determining whether he acted alone or had outside support. The incident has raised alarms about potential threats to Brazil’s democratic institutions, as Rodrigues described the bombing attempt as possibly part of a broader, violent effort to undermine the rule of law.
The explosion occurred outside the Supreme Court, just days before the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro and the planned visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Brazil. In a statement, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes confirmed that the attack was targeted at the court, making it part of a worrying trend of attacks on the country’s democracy.
Luiz, a former city council candidate from the right-wing Liberal Party of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, had a history of promoting political violence online. Police reports indicated that Luiz first threw an object at the Supreme Court building, causing no damage, before lying down and detonating a homemade bomb that killed him. Luiz had previously lost a city council race in 2020 in Rio do Sul, in the southern state of Santa Catarina, as a candidate for Bolsonaro’s party.
Justice Moraes connected the bombing to the political rhetoric of the Bolsonaro era, especially the 2023 riot in which Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings to protest the defeat of Bolsonaro in the presidential election. Luiz’s actions are believed to be a consequence of the ongoing political tensions and conspiracy theories that have surged under Bolsonaro’s influence.
In response to the attack, Bolsonaro distanced himself, calling the bombing an isolated incident driven by an individual with mental health issues. However, the explosion has reignited concerns over the former president’s role in perpetuating divisive rhetoric, which has been linked to the broader wave of violence targeting Brazil’s democratic institutions.
Federal police also found additional explosives in a property rented by Luiz in Brasília, which were safely detonated by bomb disposal experts. His phone, found in a parked trailer, will further aid the investigation.
The explosions, which occurred shortly after a plenary session of the Supreme Court, resulted in no injuries to justices, who were swiftly evacuated. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who had just left the executive palace across from the court, was also unharmed. As investigations continue, the bombing has added fuel to the ongoing probe into Bolsonaro’s alleged involvement in a coup plot, with the investigation expected to conclude this month.