Brazil’s top court evacuated after explosions ahead of G20

São Paulo: Brazil’s Supreme Court was evacuated and Congress will remain closed after two nearby explosions that left one dead in a square near Congress and the presidential palace in Brasilia, police said, stirring security concerns shortly before the country hosts the G20 summit.

The rare blasts come five days before global leaders from the major economies, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, meet in Rio de Janeiro, followed by a state visit to the capital by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Authorities said a man who failed in an attempt to break into the court killed himself in explosions outside the building.

Police vehicles are parked outside the Supreme Court in Brasília, Brazil, following an explosion.Credit: AP

The first explosion happened in a carpark near the court building in the evening (Thursday morning AEDT). The Supreme Court justices had just ended a plenary session and were quickly evacuated safely, the court said in a statement.

Local media showed footage suggesting two blasts outside the court, with 20 seconds between the first and the second explosions.

Celina Leão, the lieutenant governor of Brazil’s federal district, said the suspect’s “first action was to explode the car. Then he approached the Supreme Court and tried to get in the building. He failed and then there were the other explosions.”

Local media reported that the car that exploded belonged to a member of Brazil’s Liberal Party, the same party of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Brazilian media reported the man had been a candidate in local elections and had posted warnings on social media, saying political leaders should “be careful when opening cupboards, drawers”. UOL also reported the man had visited the lower house of Congress earlier in the day, citing the chamber’s security chief.

Leão said only investigations would determine whether the owner of the car was the same man who died in the blasts.

She recommended that Congress be closed the next day to avoid new risks. Brazil’s Senate heeded her call and the lower house would be shut until noon, speaker Arthur Lira said.

“It could have been a lone wolf, like others we’ve seen around the world,” Leão said in a news conference. “We are considering it as a suicide because there was only one victim. But investigations will show if that was indeed the case.”

Federal police said they had deployed a bomb squad to the square in the heart of Brasilia to investigate the blasts. The country’s solicitor-general on social media described the explosions as an “attack”.

A police officer told local television that the dead man found in the square had an explosive device on him, so his body would be carefully inspected in case of another explosion.

The explosions were heard around the Three Powers Plaza, an iconic square connecting the principal buildings of Brazil’s three branches of federal government - the Supreme Court, Congress and the presidential palace.

It was the scene of riots on January 8 last year when supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro ransacked the buildings to protest his electoral defeat.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had left the palace shortly before the explosions.

The Supreme Court in recent years has become a target for threats due to its crackdown on the spread of false information amid the country’s deep political polarisation, although bombings are rare in the country.

The presidential security bureau was conducting a sweep of the grounds around the presidential palace, local press reported.

Reuters, AP