Frances Mao
In Brazil

Image source, Reuters

"I voted for Bolsanaro, but I don’t agree with what they're doing," says Daniel Lacerda in the South Wing neighbourhood of Brasilia.

"If you don't agree with the president you should just say it and move on. You shouldn't go hold protests and commit all the violence like they’re doing."

"It's sad to think that we've come to this point where people think the only solution is violence," says Lacerda, 21.

He tells me that he views the situation as "our Capitol moment", referring to the riot in Washington DC on 6 January 2021.

"I don’t feel happy in any way. I think there’s other ways to solve this," he continues.

"Brazil is a huge country and we have so many things to be proud of. It’s so sad we’ve reached this point."

Image source, Getty Images

As of 20:00 in Brasilia (23:00 GMT), police have almost completely cleared federal buildings of Bolsonaro supporters.

There are still some Bolsonaristas inside the Congress building and police are using force to repel them.

There is still no official statement from security forces, but GloboNews TV channel is reporting that 170 protesters have been arrested.

Meanwhile, the governor of the federal district, Ibaneis Rocha, has recorded a video in which he apologises to Lula for "the terrorist acts".

“This was inacceptable”, he says, also addressing his message to the leaders of the Supreme Court and Congress.

Image source, Reuters

Carlos de Souza, politics editor at the newspaper Correio Braziliense, says the situation on the ground is "very disturbing", with police "losing control" in the chaos.

He tells BBC News that the situation has been volatile there in the weeks since Bolsonaro's loss as protest camps began forming outside Congress.

"The local police, they were standing by those people in the sense that they were watching, observing, guiding those people in a peaceful way.

"But in a certain moment things became uncontrollable and the crowd literally invaded the parliament."

Speaking from Brasilia, he estimates that the number of people in the crowd rose to over 4,000.

De Souza adds that the situation is similar to what the world witnessed in Washington DC on 6 January 2021.

"It's the same. It's people who do not accept the rules of democracy. They don't accept elections, they don't accept the rule of the law."

"Even in a democracy like the United States, they're still facing problems."

Image source, Getty Images

The chairman of the powerful US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has linked today's assault on Brazil's Congress back to Republican US ex-President Donald Trump.

"I condemn this outrageous assault on Brazil’s government buildings incited by demagogue Bolsonaro’s reckless disregard for democratic principles," New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez said.

He added that two years after the similar riot on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, "Trump’s legacy continues to poison our hemisphere".

Trump and Bolsonaro are allies who both endorsed each other's failed bids for re-election. The similarity between the two men saw Bolsonaro nicknamed "the Trump of the Tropics".

Vanessa Buschschlüter
Latin America digital editor

The storming of Brazil's Congress is the dramatic culmination of tensions which have been simmering in Brazil for months, if not years.

These divisions came to the forefront during the run-up to the presidential election which pitted left-wing former President Lula against the far-right incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro.

But it is about more than just left versus right, democratic values are at stake.

There are Brazilians who plainly refuse to accept Lula's election win and who now also refuse to accept the institutions which are key to Brazil's democracy.

These Brazilians were confident that Jair Bolsonaro would defeat Lula in the election, and when that did not happen, it was like taking a match to a powder keg.

Some had been camping out in front of military barracks in the hope of swaying the military so it would stop Lula from becoming president. The military did not act, and Lula was sworn in as president a week ago. But the rage of those who had been hoping against hope that Lula would somehow be prevented from taking over didn't dissipate. They took it out today on those buildings which in their minds house the government they see as an enemy.

We're getting footage from inside Brazil's presidential palace, which was targeted by protesters today.

In this video, the Bolsonaro supporters are filmed waving flags and wearing the national football t-shirt inside the building.

Throughout this footage, the group of protesters shout "freedom".

Congress, the Supreme Court and Presidential Palace have been retaken by security forces, according to Brazilian TV channel GloboNews.

Mass supporters of Brazil's far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro invaded all three buildings today.

Frances Mao
In Brazil

CNN Brasil is showing live pictures of police detaining dozens of protesters in their yellow jerseys outside the Presidential Palace. The building appears to be cleared out and now under control.

Police are marching scores of arrested protesters into buses and riot police are scoping out the palace.

They're bringing out some protesters whose hands are bound behind their backs.

Image source, Frances Mao

Mike Wendling
US disinformation reporter

Image source, Getty Images

The scenes in Brasilia resemble events at the US Capitol on 6 January two years ago - and there are deeper connections as well.

Former President Donald Trump and some of his key allies who spread election fraud rumours and misinformation around the 2020 US election have ties to the Bolsonaro camp.

Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo met Trump in November, and also spoke with Trump advisors Jason Miller and Stephen Bannon, according to reports in the Washington Post, external and other news outlets.

Bannon devoted several episodes of his podcast to claims of election fraud and promoted the hashtag #BrazilianSpring, an apparent attempt to encourage a mass mobilisation against President Lula.

Online, Bolsonaro supporters are railing about an existential national crisis and a supposed “communist takeover” – exactly the same type of rhetoric that drove the protesters in Washington two years ago.

On Telegram and Trump’s Truth Social network, one of the key organisers of the pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” campaign has been encouraging the crowds, writing: “Do whatever is necessary!”

The US embassy in Brasilia has warned Americans to avoid the area around Congress until further notice due to the violence unfolding there.

"Violence has no place in a democracy," Douglas Koneff, the US chargé d'affaires in Brasilia, wrote on Twitter.

"We strongly condemn the attacks on the institutions of the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary Powers in Brasilia, which is also an attack on democracy. There is no justification for these acts!"

US White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan condemned the attack and said that President Joe Biden is monitoring the situation.

"The United States condemns any effort to undermine democracy in Brazil. President Biden is following the situation closely and our support for Brazil's democratic institutions is unwavering."

Here's a bit more from President Lula, who has spoken in the last hour about the attack. He said there was "incompetence, bad faith or malice" by the security forces of the Federal District (DF) of Brasilia.

"There was, I would say, incompetence, ill will or bad faith on the part of the people who take care of public safety in the DF. It is not the first time. You will see in the images that they [police officers] are guiding people on the walk to Praça dos Três Powers," said the president.

"We are going to find out who are the financiers of these vandals who went to Brasilia and they will all pay with the force of law," he added.

Katy Watson
South America correspondent in São Paulo

It’s important to state that this is not just about Jair Bolsonaro's defeat – it’s more than that.

Many of the supporters I’ve spoken to in the past couple of months have said he’s less relevant than he was.

What the hardline protestors want more than anything is Lula back in prison, not in the presidential palace.

It’s their fear of communism and incorrect view that Lula is a communist that is fuelling their anger more than anything.

Jair Bolsonaro was the vehicle for that anger – he was the person to displace Lula.

But he has been very quiet since losing (even flying off to Florida to avoid the inauguration) – and even he has not been as hardline as those backing him.

Some people argue Bolsonaro is irrelevant – it’s only the army that can save Brazil.

This a country where military rule is still very acceptable among a sizeable part of the population.

So while it is straight out of the Trump playbook in many ways, there are deep Brazilian roots in all of this and a throw back to the Cold war fear of communism.

The Supreme Court was among the buildings stormed by supporters of Brazil's ex-President Jair Bolsonaro. Below is footage, verified by the BBC, showing the scenes of chaos inside the court building.

In his impassioned speech, Lula was visibly angry.

He said that there was no precedent for what happened in Brasilia today.

He called those behind the storming of Congress "fanatic fascists" who, represented "everything that's abominable" in politics.

The president said that they would be found and punished "with all the force of the law".

He repeatedly said that "these fanatics have done something that's never before been done in this country".

Lula is now lashing out at police officers at the scene today - condemning their lack of action when the crowds turned violent.

"The police didn't do anything at all. They just let the protesters in," he is saying.

The president has ordered the national guard to move in to reinstate order in the capital.

He has also ordered the shut down of central Brasilia - including the main avenue where the administrative and government buildings are located - for 24 hours.

Image source, Reuters

In the past few minutes, President Lula has been giving a televised address, in which he called the attack in Brasilia "barbarism" and warned that everyone involved would be "found and punished". We'll bring you more from his speech as we get it.

We're already getting reaction to the dramatic turn of events in Brasilia, where the country's main legislative institutions have been stormed by protesters.

Chilean President Gabriel Boris described the attack as a "cowardly and vile attack on democracy", while Colombian President Gustavo Petrol said "fascism has decided to stage a coup".

He called for the Organisation of American States - a regional grouping - to hold an urgent meeting.

Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard offered his country's full support for President Lula's administration, and said it rejects "any attempt against democratic institutions".

Argentina's Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero expressed solidarity with President Lula and said his country raised its voice "in defense of Brazil's democracy".

The governor of Brasilia's Federal District, Ibaneis Rocha, says he is deploying "the whole contingent of security forces in the streets" to "contain the anti-democratic riot".

"I have placed the whole contingent of security forces in the streets, with the aim of arresting and punishing those responsible" for storming the state buildings, he announced on Twitter.

He also confirmed he had fired the head of security in the capital, Anderson Torres.

Image source, Reuters