A man committed suicide with an explosive device outside Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) on Wednesday night. This is the location investigated by Brazilian police. explained as a suicide attack.
brazilian police identified The man is Francisco Wonderly Ruiz, a 59-year-old man who is colloquially known as “Tiu França” and is a locksmith by trade. Mr. Lewis ran for city council as a candidate for the Liberal Party (PL) in the 2020 local elections, but was unsuccessful.
The man reportedly tried to enter the STF building and after failing to enter the building, he committed suicide by detonating an explosive device attached to the back of his neck.
According to the initials reporttwo explosions occurred around 7:30 p.m. local time. The first explosion occurred from a vehicle in a parking lot near the STF building, and the second explosion occurred approximately 20 seconds later, killing the suspected assailant. There were no casualties other than Wanderlee Lewis in the attack. The vehicle in which the first explosive was detonated was registered in Lewis' name.
Brazilian news agency Metropoles published footage of the incident obtained from STF security cameras on Thursday morning. In the video, Wonderly Lewis is seen outside the STF opening what appears to be a backpack and removing an object from it that she threw at a statue outside the building. According to testimony from an STF security guard, the object thrown at the statue was a shirt.
As STF guards approached the man, Wonderly Lewis threw an artifact at the statue and moved away from the guards. Wonderly Lewis then appeared to throw a flaming object at the building. Seconds later, Wondery Lewis fired another similar object, which apparently self-destructed before lying on the ground.
incident is happening investigated Brazilian Federal Police investigated it as a terrorist attack. Brazilian military police deactivated four other suspicious objects found near the man's body early Thursday morning. Military police also searched the man's home and found a booby trap containing a bomb. reportedly Gone.
The Supreme Court of Brazil is located in the Plaza de la Trilateral in the capital Brasilia, sharing space with the Brazilian Congress and the Presidential Palace of Planalto. At the time of the incident, both houses of Brazil's Congress were in session. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva left the presidential palace for the day.
The police report also said the man shared messages through the messaging platform WhatsApp in which he expressed his intention to “determine self-annihilation and carry out bomb attacks against people and facilities.”
metropole reported On Thursday morning, it was revealed that Wonderly Lewis had posted a message on WhatsApp criticizing both Lula and former President Jair Bolsonaro, asking them to “step away from public life.” It became. He allegedly claimed that he chose November 13 to carry out the attack because the number 13 is commonly used. identify The ruling leftist Labor Party (PT) won the local elections.
According to Metropoles, in one such message, Wonderly Lewis wrote, “Be careful when opening drawers, cabinets, shelves, storage areas, etc.,” followed by “Starting: November 13, 2024. 5:48 PM. Game ends on November 16, 2024.
According to local media, Wonderly Lewis posted a video on her TikTok account hinting at an impending attack with explosives.
Daniela Lima is a woman who identified herself as Wanderlee Lewis' ex-wife. reportedly On Thursday morning, the man told police that he had attempted to kill Defense Minister Alexandre de Moraes and others who were with him at the time of the attack.
STF Minister Alexandre de Moraes announced Brazil's Supreme Court announced Thursday morning that it would open an investigation into the incident with him as the rapporteur.
demolas claimed Wednesday's suicide bombing was not an “isolated incident,” and as a result, the investigation is linked to a public inquiry into “anti-democracy militias” in connection with the events of January 8, 2023, in which thousands of protesters took part. He said that it would be possible. A storm has come In the grounds of the Parliament Building, the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and the Planalto Presidential Palace.
“This is a crime, it is not freedom of expression. This is not freedom of expression anywhere in the world, it is a crime. The public prosecutor's office has already filed more than 600,000 indictments,” De Moraes said. Ta. “We need authorities to come together to relentlessly defend democracy and hold fully accountable all those who seek to defy it.”
Demooraes too claimed On Thursday, he said the attack showed the need for national calm, but that would not be achieved by granting amnesty to the more than 250 men and women convicted of taking part in the January 8 riot. emphasized.
“We cannot ignore what happened yesterday, and the public prosecutor's office is a very important institution and has done a very important job in fighting this extremism that, unfortunately, is now born and grown in Brazil.” Moraes said. “We need to keep fighting this.”
At the time of writing, Brazilian authorities have not disclosed whether there is any connection between the bombing and the January 8 riot. Celina Leán, Interim Governor of the Federal District of Brazil, said: said Reporters say the current theory is that Francisco Wanderley Ruiz acted alone as a “lone wolf.”
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan writer who chronicles life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here
