The storming of the Brasília governorate bears more resemblance to a riot than an attempted coup.
The protesters, some of whom were able to break into Congress and other buildings, called for a military takeover.
But no operational goal of the action could be identified, and the timing was also rather inappropriate.
The deputies weren't in parliament, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wasn't even in town.
Unlike the storming of the Washington Capitol two years ago, to which the events in Brasilia were immediately compared, the demonstrators could no longer have prevented Lula's inauguration.
He has been Brazilian President since the beginning of the year.
Bolsonaro sowed doubts
Nevertheless, the example of the United States is clearly recognizable, as was often the case when President Bolsonaro was voted out of office.
Like Trump, he did not recognize his election defeat, fueled doubts about the legitimacy of the result early on, stirred up his supporters and only hours later on Sunday distanced himself from the attacks on state institutions.
Trump has created a model for disrupting and eliminating democratic processes that will probably not only find imitators in Brazil.
It was fueled by the former US President's hunger for power and narcissism, but it satisfies the authoritarian aspirations of many citizens even in the most enlightened societies.
In Brazil, it will now depend on the security forces.
Bolsonaro failed to get the military on his side after the election, but he can apparently still count on sympathizers in the security apparatus.
Democracy cannot be held against him, so it is a good sign that there were police officers who put an end to the spook on Sunday and that they took action against protest camps the day after.
Lula's reconciliation agenda is gone for now, though.