Brazilian authorities on Saturday foiled a planned bomb
attack targeting American pop icon Lady Gaga’s record-breaking concert at
Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro.
The performance drew over two million fans and was
reportedly sponsored by the Brazilian government to boost the country’s
struggling economy.
In a statement, Rio de Janeiro’s civil police, in
collaboration with the ministry of justice, revealed that the attack was
orchestrated by a hate group accused of radicalizing teenagers.
It added that the group allegedly promoted violent ideologies, including self-harm and extremist content, as a means of fostering social belonging.
“The suspects were recruiting participants, including
minors, to carry out coordinated attacks using improvised explosives and
Molotov cocktails,” the police disclosed.
Authorities confirmed that the plotters posed as members of
Lady Gaga’s global fanbase, the ‘Little Monsters,’ to conceal their activities.
The investigation was launched after the ministry of
justice’s cyber operations lab received intelligence from Rio’s police,
uncovering encrypted online cells that promoted violence among youths through
coded language and extremist symbols.
The police arrested two people in connection with the
alleged plot — a man described as the group’s leader in the southern state of
Rio Grande do Sul on illegal weapons possession charges, and a teenager in Rio
on child pornography charges.
Addressing the incident on Sunday, a spokesperson for Lady
Gaga said the pop star and her team “learned about this alleged threat via
media reports this morning.
“Prior to and during the show, there were no known safety
concerns, nor any communication from the police or authorities to Lady Gaga
regarding any potential risks,” the spokesperson added.
“Her team worked closely with law enforcement throughout the
planning and execution of the concert and all parties were confident in the
safety measures in place.”
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