Brazil police foil bomb plot on Lady Gaga concert in Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brasília: Brazilian police said on Sunday that they had foiled a bomb plot against a packed Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro a day earlier.

Two people were arrested in raids carried out across several states.

“The suspects were recruiting participants, including minors, to carry out coordinated attacks using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails,” the police said in a statement.

“The plan was treated as a ‘collective challenge’ with the aim of gaining notoriety on social media,” police added.

More than 2 million people were in attendance at the free concert, according to official numbers.

What do we know about the bomb plot?

A tip from Rio state police intelligence had uncovered online cells that encouraged violent behavior among teenagers.

The Justice Ministry said those behind the plan were recruiters who identified themselves as members of Lady Gaga’s global fan base, known as the “Little Monsters.”

Police arrested a man thought to be the group’s leader in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul for illegal possession of a firearm, while a teenager in Rio de Janeiro was also detained for storing child pornography.

Authorities carried out over a dozen search and seizure warrants across the states of Rio de Janeiro, Mato Grosso, Rio Grande do Sul and Sao Paulo.

Lady Gaga’s show goes on without incident

Photos show fans having descended on the iconic Copacabana Beach late at night for the concert that was to begin at around 9:45 p.m. local time.

Organizers estimated that 2.1 million people flocked to the beach to watch Gaga perform, with thousands having arrived much earlier in the day.

The show was paid for by the city government in an attempt to boost local tourism and similar concerts are also scheduled to take place every year at least until 2028.

Rio’s City Hall said Gaga’s show went on as planned, without any incident, as fans turned the beach into a dance floor.

The show was Gaga’s first in Brazil since 2012, with the artist showing up for fans who had gathered at the beach the night before the concert just to watch her soundcheck.

“I’ve missed you so much,” she told fans, “I know that this is not the first show here, I know this is just a rehearsal, it feels like it’s the real show.”

‘Two million’ throng Lady Gaga concert at Rio’s Copacabana