Brazil's president shook hands with supporters, wearing no face mask despite its use being mandatory in the capital.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro rallied supporters protesting against the Supreme Court for investigating the right-wing leader, mingling with the crowd and riding a police horse, as one of the court's justices compared the risks to Brazil's democracy with Hitler's Germany.

Deepening a political crisis during one of the world's worst novel coronavirus outbreaks, Bolsonaro has condemned the top court for investigating his interference in police affairs and opening an inquiry into alleged libel and intimidation campaigns run by his supporters on social media.

Supreme Court Justice Celso de Mello, who is responsible for investigating a former justice minister's allegation that Bolsonaro tried to meddle with law enforcement for personal reasons, said the president's supporters were seeking a military dictatorship.

After his helicopter ride, the president walked to the rally and shook hands with supporters, wearing no face mask despite its use being mandatory in the capital to fight the coronavirus outbreak.