On November 13, 2024, Franciso Wanderly Luiz killed himself outside of Brazil’s Supreme Court in Brasilia. 

What Happened on November 13 Exactly? 

59-year-old Franciso Wanderly Luiz committed suicide in an attempt to enter Brazil’s Supreme Court Brasilia while also detonating explosives within the same few minutes. Luiz was carrying this explosive in his arms as it went off. 

Civilians claimed that two explosions went off at about 7:30 p.m., the first explosion supposedly coming from Luiz’s car, followed by the second explosion that killed him.

Motive or Build-Up of This Attack?

Franciso Wanderly Luiz was confirmed to be a part of the “former President Jair Bolsonaro’s right-wing Liberal Party” and “having unsuccessfully run in local elections in 2020” provided by Federal Police. The police also found past social media posts from Luiz promoting and even threatening that state authority, which provided prior aggression following the attack on the Brazil Supreme Court.

Luiz’s ex-wife also allegedly told police that his intention with this attack was to “ kill Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes,” which was released by CNN Brazil.

Authorities are still in search of a motive, but Moraes has told the press that this attack seemed to be a part of the bigger picture to Luiz of a way to act on his hatred toward government systems, and this event was a way for him to instigate and pronounce his hatred. 

This is safe to assume because it is typical for Supreme Court Justices to face aggression or even become targets of threats and criticism due to the extensive “authority over cases involving political extremism, disinformation, and threats to the democratic order.” This becomes more apparent as it is explained that “some view this expansion of power as essential to protecting Brazil’s democracy, critics have decried it as judicial overreach aimed at curtailing conservative voices.” This specifically examines the common reasons or possible explanations as to why Luiz had aggressively targeted the Brazil Supreme Court, but this is not a verified motive by investigators. This is only an inference provided by CNN.

The Public’s Reaction 

This act of political and physical violence was looked down upon by many, including the Liberal Party.

Fabio Wajngarten, Jair Bolsonaro’s advisor, posted on X, “There are crazy people everywhere, across all political spectrums, supporters of all teams, of all beliefs and religions.” With this post, Wajngarten creates an almost casual sense of this attack, enforcing a reaction of awareness in a way that also gives a reality check to the readers as he provides reasoning that these people could be anywhere and are everywhere simultaneously. 

Bolsonaro (former president of Brazil)  also publicly stated that Brazil needed a sense of unity after this attack, followed by how Brazil needed to “once again cultivate an environment suitable for different ideas to confront each other peacefully.” With this statement, Bolsonaro explains that Brazil needs to regain its healthy confrontation persona and the peaceful and safe environment it once had before this attack that disrupted its system of tranquility.