Bolsonaro Supporters Blocking Highways Attack Brazilian Police

Groups of Bolsonaristas blocking highways in some parts of Brazil in protest against the victory of President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reacted on Monday with violence against the Highway Police in at least two locations: Novo Progresso (in the state of Pará, in the north of the country) and Rio do Sul (Santa Catarina, in the south of the country).

In videos disseminated on social networks and collected by the portal G1, it can be seen how, at the Novo Progresso blockade, highway BR-163, which cuts through part of the Brazilian Amazon, there is the sound of gunshots and demonstrators throwing stones at police officers.

According to the local press, the Bolsonarista group injured one agent, and a baby had to receive medical attention for a beginning of intoxication from the tear gas fired by the police to disperse the demonstrators.

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In Rio do Sul, in the state of Santa Catarina, videos show how the demonstrators, dressed in green and yellow and with the Brazilian flag, throw objects at the police, such as plastic chairs and even a portable barbecue.

A man wearing a yellow cap hits a Highway Police officer with an iron bar, at which point other extreme right-wing sympathizers appear and continue throwing objects at the police officers, who call for help from the Military Police special forces.

The blockades on Brazilian highways decreased drastically recently, especially after a video released by the president, Jair Bolsonaro, in which he asked his followers to put an end to this type of protest because they were damaging the country's economy.

Even so, there are still isolated protests in front of Army barracks, where protesters call for the Armed Forces to organize a coup to prevent the left from taking power.