BRASILIA, Nov 15, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - A failed bomb attack on Brazil's Supreme
Court is being probed as a "terrorist act" with possible links to an
insurrection last year against President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the
country's police chief said Thursday.

The attempted attack, which happened late Wednesday in the capital Brasilia,
came as the country prepares to host leaders including US President Joe Biden
and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro next
Monday and Tuesday.

The man believed to be the sole perpetrator died in the attack when he set
off a blast outside the Supreme Court. He was the only casualty.

His body lay on the ground overnight while a bomb squad worked to remove a
suspected detonator, before taking away the body early Thursday.

Federal police director Andrei Passos Rodrigues told a Brasilia news
conference that the dead man, identified as Francisco Wanderley Luiz, 59,
allegedly planned the attack over a long period and had apparently acted
alone.

Nevertheless, Rodrigues warned that "this is not an isolated act" and "the
extremists are active."

He said the attack could have been a "violent" attempt to overthrow
"democratic rule of law."

The day after the attack, the Supreme Court building was surrounded by
security fencing.

"Where did we lose the light of our affectionate, joyful and fraternal soul
to the darkness of hatred, aggression and violence?" said Luis Roberto
Barroso, president of the Brazilian Supreme Court, during a court session.

Luiz was a member of the far-right Liberal Party (PL) of former president
Jair Bolsonaro, whose supporters in January 2023 sought to violently take
control of democratic institutions in Brasilia after Lula's return to power.

- Motives unknown -

Bolsonaro on Thursday took to social media to denounce the overnight bomb
attack as an isolated event. He called for "dialogue" to protect democracy in
Brazil.

Around 7:30 pm (2230 GMT) on Wednesday, Luiz drove a bomb-laden car towards
the Supreme Court, according to officials.

After fuses in the car caught fire and caused an initial blast that did not
set off attached explosives, Luiz was seen exiting the vehicle and running
towards the court entrance.

Seconds later, another blast occurred, killing Luiz in front of the court.

"We still do not know the motives of the crime," the police chief said.

But he said Luiz, the registered owner of the car, had for months been
renting a place at a "strategic point" near the Supreme Court.

Inside the property, investigators found a message apparently voicing violent
support for the 2023 insurrection and its sympathizers.

The square in front of the Supreme Court building is known as Praca dos Tres
Poderes (Place of the Three Powers), also the location of Brazil's congress
and presidential palace.

Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters in January 2023 stormed the three
institutions, causing major damage before authorities reimposed order.

Alexandre de Moraes, a powerful Supreme Court justice who has drawn ire from
the right, is leading the investigation into the apparent coup attempt, which
resembled the storming of the US Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump on
January 6, 2021.

At the time of Wednesday's bomb attack, Lula had already left the
presidential palace.

On Monday and Tuesday next week, the Brazilian president will host the G20
summit in Rio, which is under extraordinary security.

Brazilians strolling along Copacabana Beach on Thursday told AFP they were
reassured by the strong police presence deployed for the summit.

"I think it will be safe here. I have never seen so many police in the
streets as these days," said one Rio resident, Leandro Cariello, 75.

"I'm very confident that nothing will happen here. I believe a lot in our
national security," said Flavia Reis, a 55-year-old beach worker.

Next Wednesday, Chinese President Xi is due to make a state visit to
Brasilia, a day after the G20 summit in Rio wraps up.