Protesters denying election results are 'terrorists', threaten Lula's inauguration, says new Brazil minister

Brazil's new justice minister Flavio Dino has slammed protesters denying election results and camping outside Brazilian army bases. He said they have become "incubators of terrorism", a day after police detonated an explosive device and arrested a suspect they accused of links to the Brasilia camp.

"Yesterday's serious events in Brasilia prove that the so-called 'patriotic' camps have become incubators for terrorists," tweeted Flavio. "There will be no amnesty for terrorists, their supporters and financiers."

Due to recent threats, Dino said arrangements for Lula's inauguration would be "re-evaluated, with a view to tightening security."

He also plans to propose the creation of "special groups to combat terrorism and irresponsible weaponry. The rule of law is not compatible with these political militias."

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Supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro have been camping outside Brazilian army bases for weeks, demanding for the election results to be overturned, which have handed a victory to leftist President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who takes office on January 1.

Brazil has been marred by post-election violence ever since Bolsonaro lost. Truckers had been earlier blocking roads and highways to register their anger at the results. On December 12, the day Lula's victory was certified, some of the camp dwellers attacked the federal police HQ in Brasilia.

Bolsonaro hasn't conceded defeat yet and has been questioning the credibility of Brazil's voting system. The head of Brazil's electoral court last month rejected a complaint from Bolsonaro's allies challenging the presidential election.

A 54-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the planting of the bomb and confessed to doing so in a fuel truck near the Brasilia airport in order to createchaos.

"He came to participate in the protests, outside the army headquarters, and he's part of that movement that supports the current president," Robson Cândido, head of the Civil Police in Brasilia, told reporters. "They're in that mission, which according to them is ideological, but which has got out of control."

Police also found assault-style rifles and other explosives at an apartment he rented. The suspect was a registered gun owner, known as a CAC, a group that has grown to include 700,000 people since Bolsonaro was elected in 2018 and began loosening gun laws.

Cândido said the man, and those helping him, had tried to activate the explosive device, but it had not gone off. He said it was still unclear how many other people were involved.

"We've never had bombs here in Brazil," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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