Brazil police probe plot to carry out election attacks

Brazilian security officials said Tuesday they were investigating eight suspects of plotting on Telegram to carry out attacks in the capital during October's elections, in which President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is seeking a fourth term.

Intercepted communications showed the suspects, aged 19 to 31, were planning "severe acts of violence" against the presidential palace, parliament, Supreme Court and various ministries in Brasilia, said Victor Fernandes, digital rights secretary with the justice ministry.

He told a press conference that the suspects were members of "two public groups on the Telegram platform that shared information regarding the planning of attacks in Brasilia" during the election period.

They were conspiring against "the political system as a whole, without specifying left or right" and without targeting specific officials by name, said Maurilio Coelho, head of intelligence for the Brasilia civil police.

They are from five different states, do not know each other personally and do not have criminal records, Coelho said. One of them is a seminarian at a monastery in northeastern Pernambuco.

According to a police statement, the group had exchanged messages about travelling to Brasilia, storming buildings, choosing targets, recruiting people from different states, and conducting tactical training.

They also allegedly shared building plans and 3D models of government buildings in the capital, as well as "manuals for the manufacture of explosive devices."

The investigation was triggered by information from a cybercrimes intelligence unit.

Police have seized electronic devices and are investigating how organized the group was and how far any plans had progressed.

Authorities have asked the National Data Protection Agency -- an independent public body -- to investigate whether Telegram failed in its duty to "prevent the mass circulation of criminal content," said Fernandes.

In April, Brazil passed a law tightening regulations regarding the liability of digital platforms and social networks for content shared by their users.

In the October 4 presidential election, Lula will face off against right-wing candidate Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro. The 71-year-old former leader is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for plotting a coup after losing a re-election bid in 2022.

Hundreds of Jair Bolsonaro's supporters were convicted over the January 2023 storming of government buildings and the Supreme Court in Brasilia, a week after Lula took office.