Several people were injured this Sunday after lightning struck a square in Brasilia demanding his release after being convicted of a coup. The event occurred in the middle of a day marked by heavy rains in the Federal District.
According to the Fire Department, cited by Brazilian media CNN Brazil y G1, The number of injured has not yet been officially confirmed and ranges between 15 and 34 people, some of whom were taken to hospitals in serious condition.
The impact occurred in the vicinity of the Cruzeiro Plaza, point where the march called by far-right deputy Nikolas Ferreira, one of the main promoters of the mobilization in defense of the former president, was scheduled to conclude.
A witness to the event, merchant Alfredo Santana, told G1: “Lightning struck and then everyone fell to the ground. We didn’t understand anything until we managed to get up and help each other; there were a lot of people running.” He added that, although emergency services were prepared“there were too many people at the same time.”
This Sunday’s rally put an end to a walk started last Monday by Nikolas Ferreira, who left from Paracatu, in the interior of the state of Minas Gerais, heading to the Brazilian capital. The deputy claims to have traveled about 240 kilometers on foot along a federal highway, accompanied by followers and allies of Bolsonaro.
The protesters demand the freedom of the former head of state, for leading a coup plot with the aim of remaining in power after losing the 2022 elections against the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
After exhausting the appeals, the Justice ordered the execution of the sentence at the end of November. Bolsonaro was initially detained in a Federal Police unit in Brasilia and, since January 15, has remained in a prison complex in the capital.
His lawyers have repeatedly requested that he be granted house arrest due to his state of health, but the Supreme Federal Court has so far rejected all appeals presented.
