Brazil riots: Former public security chief accused of 'sabotage'

Brasília's erstwhile nationalist information main has been accused of "sabotaging" section constabulary forces and failing to halt Sunday's riots successful Brazil's capital.

Anderson Torres was dismissed from his relation aft supporters of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro stormed Congress, the statesmanlike palace and the Supreme Court.

He was accused connected Tuesday of leaving the information forces without leadership.

Mr Torres has denied playing immoderate portion successful the riots.

The rioting came a week aft President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, wide known arsenic Lula, was sworn in.

The melodramatic scenes saw thousands of protesters, immoderate clad successful yellowish Brazil shot shirts and waving flags, overrun constabulary and ransack the bosom of the Brazilian state.

On Tuesday, the national intervenor successful nationalist information accused Mr Torres of "a structured sabotage operation".

Ricardo Cappelli, who has been appointed to tally information successful Brasília, said determination was a "lack of command" from Mr Torres earlier authorities buildings were stormed.

Lula's inauguration connected January 1 was "an highly palmy information operation," Mr Cappelli told CNN.

What changed earlier Sunday was that, connected 2 January, "Anderson Torres took implicit arsenic Secretary of Security, dismissed the full bid and travelled", helium said.

"If this isn't sabotage, I don't cognize what is," Mr Cappelli added.

Mr Torres that helium profoundly regretted the "absurd hypotheses" that helium played immoderate portion successful the riots.

He said the scenes, which occurred during his household holiday, were lamentable and said it was "the astir bitter day" of his idiosyncratic and nonrecreational life.

Lula has accused information forces of "neglecting" their work successful not halting the "terrorist acts" successful Brasília.

Mr Bolsonaro, who has condemned the riots, has not admitted decision from October's choky predetermination that divided the nation, and flew to the US earlier the handover connected 1 January. On Monday, helium was admitted to infirmary successful Florida with abdominal pain.

A time aft the riots, heavy equipped officers started dismantling a campy of Mr Bolsonaro's supporters successful Brasília - 1 of a fig that person been acceptable up extracurricular service barracks astir the state since the statesmanlike election.

Authorities arrested 1,200 radical - successful summation to 300 detained connected Sunday.

Mr Torres, who antecedently served arsenic Mr Bolsonaro's justness minister, was fired from his relation arsenic Secretary of Public Security connected Sunday by Brasília politician Ibaneis Rocha.

Mr Rocha was himself aboriginal removed from his station for 90 days by the Supreme Court.

The lawyer general's bureau said it had asked the Supreme Court to contented apprehension warrants for Mr Torres "and each different nationalist officials liable for acts and omissions" starring to the unrest.

Lula has besides taken purpose astatine the information forces, accusing them of "incompetence, atrocious religion oregon malice" for failing to halt demonstrators accessing Congress.

"You volition spot successful the images that they [police officers] are guiding radical connected the locomotion to Praca dos Tres Powers," helium said. "We are going to find retired who the financiers of these vandals who went to Brasília are and they volition each wage with the unit of law."

Video shared by the Brazilian outlet O Globo showed immoderate officers laughing and taking photos unneurotic arsenic demonstrators occupied the legislature field successful the background.

Protesters had been gathering since the greeting connected the lawns successful beforehand of the parliament and up and down the kilometre of the Esplanada avenue, which is lined with authorities ministries and nationalist monuments.

Despite the actions of the protesters, successful the hours earlier the chaos, information had appeared tight, with the roads closed for astir a artifact astir the parliament country and equipped constabulary pairs guarding each entranceway into the area.

The BBC had seen astir 50 constabulary officers astir connected Sunday greeting section clip and cars were turned distant astatine introduction points, portion those entering connected ft were frisked by constabulary checking bags.

According to Katy Watson, the BBC's South America correspondent, immoderate protesters aren't conscionable aggravated that Mr Bolsonaro mislaid the predetermination - they privation President Lula to instrumentality to prison.

Mr Bolsonaro has gone precise quiescent since losing October's elections, she said, adding that successful not publically conceding defeat, he's allowed his astir ardent supporters to stay aggravated implicit a antiauthoritarian predetermination that helium legitimately lost.

The erstwhile president condemned the onslaught and denied work for encouraging the rioters successful a station connected Twitter immoderate six hours aft unit broke out.

On Tuesday, his son, Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, said radical should not effort to nexus his begetter to the riots, stating that helium has been silently "licking his wounds" since losing the election.