RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) 鈥 Police in Brazil said on Sunday that two people have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to detonate a bomb at a free Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro.
The Rio event on Saturday was the of the pop star's career that sent more than 2 million fans flooding Copacabana Beach.
Rio de Janeiro's state police and Brazil's Justice Ministry presented the bare outlines of a plot that they said involved a group that promoted hate speech against the LGBTQ+ community, among others, and planned to detonate homemade explosive devices at the event.
鈥淭he plan was treated as a 鈥榗ollective challenge鈥 with the aim of gaining notoriety on social media,鈥 the police said. The group, it added, disseminated violent content to teenagers online as 鈥渁 form of belonging.鈥
Authorities arrested two people in connection with the alleged plot 鈥 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. Police did not elaborate on their exact roles in the plot or on how the group came to target Lady Gaga鈥檚 beach concert.
鈥淭hose involved were recruiting participants, including teenagers, to carry out integrated attacks using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails,鈥 police said.
The Justice Ministry said that it determined the group posed a 鈥渞isk to public order." It said the group falsely presented themselves online as 鈥淟ittle Monsters鈥 鈥 Lady Gaga鈥檚 nickname for her fans 鈥 in order to reach teenagers and lure them into 鈥渘etworks with violent and self-destructive content.鈥
During a series of raids on the homes of 15 suspects across several Brazilian states, authorities confiscated phones and other electronic devices. Even as police said they believed homemade bombs were intended for use in the planned attack, there was no mention of the raids turning up any weapons or explosive material.
Lady Gaga鈥檚 publicists and concert promoters did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Police said they carried out the raids quietly Saturday in the hours leading up to the concert while 鈥渁voiding panic or distortion of information among the population."
The ministry said there was no impact on those attending the free concert.
