Bolsonaro supporter dies in suicide blast outside Brazil Supreme Court days before G20 summit

In a shocking incident, just days before Brazil hosts the G20 summit, a man carrying explosives tried to enter the nation's Supreme Court. The man died during the suspected suicide attempt, as the explosion happened at the entrance of the Supreme Court in Brasilia.

What happened?

Talking to reporters, Brasilia governor Celina Leao said: “This citizen approached the Federal Supreme Court, tried to enter, failed, and the explosion happened at the entrance.”

The man has been identified as Francisco Wanderley Luiz, a 2020 local council candidate for the Liberal Party of former president Jair Bolsonaro, reported GloboNews network, citing police documents. His body was found outside the court after two blasts occurred. Neither of the blasts injured anyone, according to local authorities.

Leao said that Luiz's body was found with “devices still on it”.

As per an AFP report, the first explosion happened in a car in the square outside the court around 7:30 pm local time (2230 GMT). Seconds later, as the man attempted to enter the Supreme Court building, a second blast detonated, killing him instantly.

Watch video here:

🚨 BREAKING

A car explosion occurred near the 🏛️ Supreme Federal Court in **Brasília**, Brazil, on November 13, 2024.

🗞️🔊 Reports confirm two explosions, with the suspect dying from the mishandling of explosives.

🚔 Police have secured the area. #Brazil pic.twitter.com/9g6QWxI81A — Xnews_with_Grok (@Xnews_with_grok) November 14, 2024

Has the police identified the alleged suicide bomber?

Leao confirmed that officials were unable to identify the man immediately due to other suspicious objects found near his body, and emergency services swiftly sealed off the area.

This violent incident comes as Brazil tightens security ahead of next week’s G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, which leaders from around the world—including Indian PM Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping—are expected to attend.

The explosions forced a swift evacuation of the Supreme Court, where the day’s session was ongoing. Authorities quickly locked down the Praca dos Tres Poderes, which houses not only the Supreme Court but also the presidential palace and Congress.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was away from the capital during the incident, a spokesman confirmed, while law enforcement deployed a large contingent of officers around the plaza under heavy rain.

Brazil’s federal police have launched an investigation to determine the attacker’s motives. Sergeant Rodrigo Santos of the capital's military police said that officers on duty near the court reported seeing a vehicle in flames before spotting the man exiting just before the blasts occurred.

Eyewitness Laiana Costa, a government employee, recounted that she saw the man go by and “then there was a noise, and I looked back and there was fire and smoke coming out,” as security forces rushed to the scene.

The setting of this attack is significant, given that this plaza was the site of the January 8, 2023, riots, when supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings to protest his election loss.

(With inputs from agencies)