Authorities in Brazil have announced they successfully averted a bomb attack that was planned for Lady Gaga’s memorable concert, which attracted over two million attendees to Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro last night.
The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro, collaborating with the Justice Ministry, reported that the scheme was organized by a group promoting hate speech and radicalizing teenagers, encouraging self-harm and violent behavior as a means of building a social identity.
According to Rio city officials, 2.1 million fans gathered for the performance of the renowned American pop star.
“The suspects were enlisting participants, including minors, to execute synchronized assaults using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails,” the police detailed in a statement.
The Justice Ministry revealed that the recruiters claimed to be part of Gaga’s worldwide fan community, recognized as the “Little Monsters.”
The investigation stemmed from a report by the ministry’s Cyber Operations Lab after intelligence from Rio state police identified digital groups promoting violent conduct among teenagers through coded messages and extremist imagery.
A man identified as the leader of the group was apprehended in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul for illegal firearm possession, while a teenager in Rio de Janeiro was taken into custody for holding child pornography.
Law enforcement executed more than a dozen search and seizure warrants across the states of Rio de Janeiro, Mato Grosso, Rio Grande do Sul, and Sao Paulo.
