2024 Brasília attack

2024 Brasília attack
Location	Praça dos Três Poderes, Brasília, Brazil
Coordinates	15°48′03″S 47°51′41″W
Date	13 November 2024 19:30 (UTC-3)
Attack type	Suicide bombing
Deaths	1 (the perpetrator)
Perpetrator	Francisco Vanderlei Luis
Motive	Under investigation

On 13 November 2024, the Praça dos Três Poderes in Brasília was struck by two explosions, leading to the isolation of the area and the mobilization of security forces to investigate possible threats to the seat of Brazilian powers. The area, where the National Congress of Brazil Palace, the Supreme Federal Court Palace and the Palácio do Planalto are located, was surrounded to carry out inspections and guarantee the protection of the facilities.

Francisco Wanderley Luiz, candidate for councilor not elected by the right-wing Liberal Party (PL) and perpetrator of the attack, died at the scene. Authorities are investigating the circumstances of the incident.

Bombings

The vehicle that detonated close to Annex IV of the Chamber of Deputies

At 19:30 local time on 13 November 2024, two explosions occurred in the Praça dos Três Poderes within 20 seconds of each other, with one occurring outside the Supreme Federal Court, while the other occurred near the National Congress. The former explosion resulted in the evacuation of the justices of the Supreme Court. The President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was not in the nearby Palácio do Planalto at the time of the explosions.

Reactions

The Chamber of Deputies suspended its session due to the explosions. Attorney General of the Union Jorge Messias condemned the attacks, and said that the federal police would investigate them in order to determine their motivation.

Perpetrator

"The individual had a backpack with him and was in a suspicious attitude in front of the statue, he placed the backpack on the ground, took out a fire extinguisher, took a blouse from inside the backpack and threw it at the statue. The individual removed some artifacts from his backpack and as the STF security guards approached, the individual opened his shirt and warned them not to get closer".

— Excerpt from the Civil Police Incident Report

The body found in Praça dos Três Poderes was identified as that of Francisco Wanderley Luiz, 59 years old, a candidate for councilor who was not elected in Rio do Sul, Santa Catarina, in the 2020 election for the Liberal Party (PL), known as Tiü França. According to the Federal Police of Brazil, he was responsible for causing the explosions. In 2012, he was arrested on misdemeanor bail. His case was reported to the Public Prosecutor's Office in 2013, leaving him free for a period and then in open custody. His conviction was overturned in 2014.

Body of Tiü França (on the left), after the attack.

Investigations showed that he had rented a house in the Federal District, in Ceilândia. Before the attack, he posted cryptic messages on his Facebook profile with bomb threats against targets he called "fucking communists"; the profile was taken down after the explosions. Luiz also posted a photograph of himself inside the Supreme Federal Court, where he was on August 24, 2024, and threatening messages to the presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate, Arthur Lira and Rodrigo Pacheco, and the presidents generals Tomás Paiva and Freire Gomes. Among his publications made that day, one said: "They let the fox into the henhouse. [...] Either they don't know the size of their prey or it's just stupidity. Proverbs 16:18 (Pride comes before a fall)".

At the time of the attack, Luiz was wearing clothes with playing card suit; then, he would have laid down on the ground and waited for the bomb to explode. When he died, his face and right hand were completely disfigured, and his remains were thrown meters away. His backpack was found at the scene. The vehicle with fireworks that exploded near Annex IV of the Chamber of Deputies belonged to him.