Brazil election protesters organize masses with social media, code words

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Brazilian authorities retake Capitol after pro-Bolsonaro rioters ransack government buildings

Brazilian authorities retake Capitol after pro-Bolsonaro rioters ransack government buildings

Residents across Brazil were invited to a “party” on social media – the festa invites were a series of thinly disguised metaphors to gather at a complex of government buildings known as Praça dos Três Poderes (Three Powers Square) outside Congress to protest the election results. The main one was an invitation for Brazilians to attend Selma’s Party.

Selma is a play on the word selva, which in Portugues translates to jungle, it is also used by the Brazilian military as a war cry. The demonstrators were staunch supporters of Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro and were asking the new president, leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to leave – falsely claiming that he won in a stolen election.

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  Members of social movements gather at Avenida Paulista in defense of democracy in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on January 9, 2023, a day after supporters of Brazil’s far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro invaded the Congress, presidential palace, and Supreme Court in Brasilia.  (Danilo Martins Yoshioka/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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  Brazilian Army soldiers take measures as they dismantle camps installed by supporters of former President Jair Messias Bolsonaro, outside the Eastern Military Command, central area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on January 09, 2023.  ( Fabio Teixeira/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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  Members of social movements protest in defense of democracy in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on January 9, 2023, a day after supporters of Brazil’s far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro invaded the Congress, presidential palace, and Supreme Court in Brasilia.  (NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP via Getty Images)

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  Police intervened with tear gas to disperse pro-Bolsonaro protesters. Some demonstrators were seen climbing onto the roofs of the House of Representatives and Senate buildings.  ( Joedson Alves/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Prior to the violent protest, influencers on social media platforms invited “patriots” to Festa da Selma.

In one viral video, a man describes the ingredients for the party, including a brand of Brazilian sugar called Union, and five large heads of corn. Corn is another wordplay. Milho means corn and milhão means a million. The suggestion is that five million people were invited to attend the protest.

One of first to use Selma’s Party was a now-deleted Twitter profile @Fernand58617686, whose bio read, “God, Homeland, family and freedom. Conservative, Right.”

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In another now-suspended Twitter account, @VanessasDire, wrote, “Selma’s party is going to be rocking today. Guests keep coming! She asked you to make this invitation viral! Entry is free for all Brazilian patriots, except for children and the elderly. It’s going to be the greatest show of all time, don’t miss out Cheers Selma.”

Organizers posted dates, times and routes for the “Liberty Caravans” that would pick people up in at least six Brazilian states and ferry them to the party. The posts advertised “free buses” with “everything for free: water, coffee, lunch, dinner.”

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  Workers clear debris caused by radical supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro following a riot at Planalto Palace on January 9, 2023 in Brasilia, Brazil.  (Andressa Anholete/Getty Images)

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  Destroyed offices caused by radical supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro following a riot the previous day at Planalto Palace on January 9, 2023 in Brasilia, Brazil.  (Andressa Anholete/Getty Images))

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  Damaged portraits of former Senate Presidents José Sarney and Renan Calheiros are seen at the Brazilian National Congress following a riot the previous day led by radical supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro on January 9, 2023 in Brasilia, Brazil.  ( Andressa Anholete/Getty Images)

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  Items of the Museum of the Brazilian Senate were destroyed at the Brazilian National Congress following a riot the previous day led by radical supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro on January 9, 2023 in Brasilia, Brazil.  (Andressa Anholete/Getty Images)

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  A man looks at damages at the Supreme Court building in Brasilia on January 10, 2023, two days after thousands of supporters of Brazil’s far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro raided federal buildings. (CARL DE SOUZA/AFP via Getty Images)

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  Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during a meeting with Governors at Planalto Palace in Brasilia, on January 9, 2023, a day after supporters of Brazil’s far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro invaded the Congress, presidential palace, and Supreme Court. (MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP via Getty Images)

On Sunday, the online activism culminated in busloads of people landing in the capital, Brasília. The protesters, dressed in the nation’s green and yellow colors, smashed windows and furniture and ripped up documents before law enforcement forced them back into the streets.

Following the riot, Brazilians authorities detained about 1,500 supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro who participated in riots that targeted Congress, the Presidential Palace and the Supreme Court.

Brazilian President Lula da Silva has vowed consequences for those who participated and has opened an investigation into how the riot was financed.

“We will not allow democracy to slip out of our hands,” da Silva said Monday evening. “In the name of defending democracy, we will not act in an authoritarian way with anyone, but we also will not go lightly on them. We will investigate and find out who financed it.”

In a series of tweets, Bolsonaro condemned the “depredations and invasions of public buildings,” according to a translation of his tweet.

President Joe Biden condemned the violent protest on Sunday while traveling in El Paso, Texas, calling it “outrageous.”

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National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan tweeted, “The United States condemns any effort to undermine democracy in Brazil. President Biden is following the situation closely and our support for Brazil’s democratic institutions is unwavering. Brazil’s democracy will not be shaken by violence.”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrote that the U.S. condemns the attacks, stating, “Using violence to attack democratic institutions is always unacceptable. We join @lulaoficial in urging an immediate end to these actions.”

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On Monday, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, declared the rioting “a violating event” and said it would remove “content that supports or praises these actions.”

Sarah Rumpf is a Fox News Digital Production Assistant. You can reach her on Twitter at @rumpfsarahc