Explosions Outside Brazil's Supreme Court Leave 1 Dead

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The explosions that shook Brazil’s capital on Wednesday evening and prompted an evacuation were an act of terrorism by a lone attacker who sought to violently disrupt democracy, police officials said on Thursday.

The authorities said the only person killed was the attacker himself, and no one was injured. But the two explosions took place near the nation’s Supreme Court in Brasília, the capital, and put the nation on edge just days before the country is set to host a major G20 summit, which President Biden and other world leaders are expected to attend.

The attack echoed the violence that descended on Brasília following the election of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva nearly two years ago, fueling worries about renewed tensions after a period of relative calm. While tensions have subsided since, Brazil’s far right has appeared energized in the days since President-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping return to power in the United States.

The authorities identified the attacker as Francisco Wanderley Luiz, 59, a locksmith from the southern state of Santa Catarina. They said he had arrived in the capital several months earlier.

They described the act as a suicide bombing that involved “long-term planning” by an attacker who appeared to have acted alone, but they linked the attack to broader political extremism. Officials said it was too soon to say if Mr. Luiz had received funding or help from others.

“The investigation will reveal if there are other connections, if there are other networks, that are behind it,” said Andrei Passos Rodrigues, director general of the Federal Police, said at a news conference on Thursday.

“We still don’t know the motive for the crime,” he said, adding that it is being treated as “a terrorist act.” He said the attack showed that “extremist groups are active” and highlighted the need for authorities to act swiftly.

The police said the attack appeared to target justices of Brazil’s Supreme Court.

Officials confirmed that Mr. Luiz, also known by his nickname online Tiu França, unsuccessfully ran for local office in 2020 with the conservative Liberal Party, currently associated with former President Jair Bolsonaro.

Brazil’s vice president, Geraldo Alckmin, called the explosion “sad and serious” and said the country is working continuously “to reduce this violence, these absurd acts that compromise peace, democracy and security.”

The blasts on Wednesday occurred 20 seconds apart at about 7:30 p.m., local officials said. The first exploded in the trunk of a car in a parking lot near the Supreme Court. Seconds later, a second bomb detonated in a nearby plaza near Brazil’s Congress and the offices of Mr. Lula, who was not at his offices when the blasts occurred, officials said.

That explosion appeared to have killed the attacker, according to the police, who said on Thursday they had also found a trailer nearby containing explosives.

Authorities said the bomber had tried and failed to enter the Supreme Court building before the explosions. Video surveillance showed he had circulated within the area before the bombs went off.

The car that blew up in the first explosion was registered to Mr. Luiz, the police said.

The explosions occurred just days before another Brazilian city, Rio de Janeiro, is set to host the G20 summit of global leaders.

The attack also harked back to the violence that shook the nation’s capital after Mr. Lula’s victory when he narrowly defeated Mr. Bolsonaro.

Just weeks before Mr. Lula was set to take office, a man tried to detonate a bomb near the airport in Brasília to protest the results of the election, which Mr. Bolsonaro falsely claimed had been stolen from him.

Then, in January 2023, supporters of the former president stormed and vandalized Brazil’s Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential offices, in an attack that echoed the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

Mr. Bolsonaro has been barred from running for political office until 2030 and the former president is the focus of a string of investigations, including for attempting to orchestrate a coup.

Just before Mr. Trump’s victory this month, Mr. Bolsonaro told a Brazilian magazine that he would fight to regain his political rights and run for president in 2026. Many Brazilians on the right see the Supreme Court as a threat to democracy, arguing that it is persecuting conservative voices.

The court has carried out a contentious crackdown on online misinformation and threats to Brazilian institutions, ordering social media platforms to block hundreds of accounts. It also jailed Bolsonaro supporters who stormed the capital.

Flávia Milhorance and Leonardo Coelho contributed reporting from Rio de Janeiro, and Paulo Motoryn from Brasília.

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