Brazilian police question Bolsonaro supporters about riots at government buildings

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, centre, president of the Supreme Court Rosa Weber, centre right, are accompanied by governors and ministers for an inspection visit and support for the Supreme Court headquarters.

Brazilian police questioned about 1,000 supporters of former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro held at a gymnasium in the capital of Brasilia, according to VOA News.

They are investigating anti-government riots over the weekend that badly damaged public buildings in a protest against new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The detainees had been staying at a camp in Brasilia that troops dismantled, a day after hundreds of demonstrators left there to storm Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court and presidential palace.

The protesters were calling for a military coup to overturn Bolsonaro’s narrow loss to leftist Lula in an October election.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes vowed in a speech to combat the "terrorists" at work in Brasilia. About 200 demonstrators were under arrest and held at a penal facility for their role in the rampage.

The protesters held at the gym, some of them wrapped in Brazilian flags, slept on the ground. Some complained to a Reuters reporter they were being held indefinitely and were poorly fed. They sang and took selfies, video posted on social media showed.

Bolsonaro has been hospitalised multiple times since surviving a stabbing during his 2018 election campaign. Bolsonaro told CNN Brazil that he may cut short his stay in the US due to his medical issues and return to Brazil before the end of the month.

The protesters who carried out the attacks on Brazil's seats of power were trying to either reinstate the former president or oust the newly inaugurated Lula.

Bolsonaro has denied inciting his supporters and said that the rioters had "crossed the line."