Our team was in Brasília on January 8 to witness thousands of Bolsonaro supporters and members of Brazil’s far-right converge on the country’s congress in an attempt to overthrow the newly formed Lula government.

On January 8, Brazil’s congress was stormed by protestors angry at the results of the recent general election and the newly formed government of Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Thousands of demonstrators could be seen on the grounds of the nation’s congress whilst social media videos showed evidence of widespread vandalism and fires burning inside the building. According to a police statement, at least 300 people were arrested as authorities wrestled to regain control of the facility.

The incident has been compared to the January 6 2020 storming of the US Capitol building by supporters of former US President, Donald Trump, and is the culmination of a series of actions by Bolsonaro’s most extreme supporters, including an attempt to storm the capital’s police HQ and a foiled plot to bomb Brasília’s airport in order to spark enough chaos to justify a military coup.

This video illustrates how we verified the footage we received of the chaotic scenes outside Brazil’s congress building.