The ex-Brazilian Prez -- who helmed a conservative first term, and was seeking a 2nd in the 2022 Brazilian general election -- was top of mind Sunday for thousands of his supporters ... who descended upon the National Congress in Brasilia during what quickly became a riot.

Tons of video is surfacing online that shows the mob breaching barriers and storming past officers to break into the Congress building, as well as the Supreme Federal Court and even the Presidential Palace itself, where just-sworn in President Luiz Lula da Silva now resides.

It seems all the buildings in question were empty prior to the break-ins, but this sight is an ugly one to say the least -- and very reminiscent to what happened at our Capitol.

The rioters are turning the grounds upside down ... destroying property and entering areas where they would obviously never be able to reach under normal circumstances. Just like here in the States, they seem to have busted through windows and locked doors -- and are making themselves at home in a chaotic scene. A lot of them are draped in Brazilian flags.

Some reports indicate that a good amount of these folks are actually armed, and threatening to occupy the premises for as long as it takes for their demands to be met -- which seem to lie in the fact that they think the election was stolen. Why does that sound familiar?

As for the response ... Brazil's Minister of Justice, Flavio Dino, is reported to have said he'll use the full extent of the law to prosecute these vandals -- but at the moment, it doesn't look like the police on the ground are having much luck in getting 'em the hell out of there.

Just like they were here, law enforcement is completely outnumbered and being overrun by civilians ... and some of the clashes have turned quite violent.

It's actually astonishing how much this parallels what happened here in the States -- some of the snapshots are almost identical -- with rioters entering offices, taking computers and posing for selfies all throughout the area and celebrating their unlawful infiltration.

Remember, we saw this exact type of behavior ourselves ... the only difference being that our lawmakers were in the middle of a live session, and had to go into hiding.

This current attempted coup is taking place on the weekend -- when federal workers and elected officials aren't around, it seems -- but it's no less discomforting to watch unfold live.

Time will tell what comes of this in Brazil. As we know, there was a special congressional committee formed that dug into the origins of Jan. 6 -- and they concluded by pointing the finger at Donald Trump ... claiming he incited the insurrectionists and should be prosecuted.