Images from the internal camera circuit of the Planalto Palace on the day of the attacks against the headquarters of the Three Powers, in Brasília, were released to the public by the Institutional Security Office (GSI) of the Presidency of the Republic of Brazil this Sunday (23).
Recordings show the presence of members of the government at the site after the attacks and the indignation of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers' Party) at the destruction. He arrives at the building a little before 9:30 pm and, on the way to the presidential office, he emphatically asks his team to record the damage.
In the recordings, Lula is accompanied by security guards, by the chief of staff, Marco Aurélio Santana Ribeiro, and by the ministers of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha, of Social Development, Wellington Dias, of Social Communications, Paulo Pimenta and of the Civil House, Rui Costa.
Costa appears in another scene with the Minister of Justice, Flávio Dino, and the Minister of Defense, José Múcio Monteiro. Dino appears irritated when talking to Múcio, while Rui Costa also shows discontent.
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Images of the exact moments of the acts of vandalism are also part of the material. In one of the recordings, it is possible to see a group of criminals breaking into the anteroom of the presidential office, shortly before 4 pm. They carry backpacks, Brazilian flags and some have their faces covered.
Before kicking in the door and opening access to the place, one of the criminals seems to be trying to make sure that the scene is being recorded and looks at a journalistic photographer who was covering the invasion, positioned behind him.
The photojournalist follows the group, but one of the men points at him with an intimidating posture. After the apparent questioning gesture, the journalist is immediately surrounded by the others.
Seeming to explain himself, the photographer takes off a protective mask, shows his face and signals that he is going to leave the place. He is still approached by one of the vandals, who touches the photojournalist on the shoulder and asks to see the captured images.
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Half an hour later, the same cameras show men and women leaving the anteroom and being guided by Major Eduardo Natale de Paula Pereira, who was part of the team of the former president, Jair Bolsonaro (Liberal Party).
Natale shows some people out and seems to be trying to convince a man to leave the room. He still tries to stop the same person from breaking down a door, but gives up and just watches the scene. Afterwards, everyone leaves and the major observes the theft of a fire extinguisher with no reaction either. Natale is the same agent who appears in another video giving water to invaders.
Shortly after the departure of the major and the coup rioters, the then Minister of the GSI, General Gonçalves Dias, arrives at the scene. He checks a few doors and enters the presidential anteroom while typing on a cell phone. Five other people, including Natale, also arrive in the area. Two men take pictures and leave shortly thereafter.
This Sunday (23), the Brazilian Federal Police heard testimony from nine GSI military who appear in the images recorded in Planalto.
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The recordings made available this Sunday also reaffirm the perception that there were few military police officers to control the crowd. Cameras used to monitor the west side of the Planalto Palace expose the exact moment when intruders enter the building's external parking lot.
As the criminals advance along the north lane of the Esplanada dos Ministérios, at 3 pm, a group that appears to have about ten agents leaves the road, goes to the sidewalk and enters the parking lot. There were other military police officers at the scene, about twenty people in total.
Just over five minutes later, at 3:06 pm, it is possible to see only some police officers' protective shields moving away from the area, already invaded by vandals.
All recordings were made public by order of the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court (STF). The scenes, captured by security cameras, were under secrecy as part of the investigation into the attacks.
Edited by: Douglas Matos
