TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Rio de Janeiro police have arrested two individuals in connection with an alleged plot to detonate a bomb at a Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro. More than two million people attended the concert on Saturday.
Police added that an adult “responsible for the plan” was arrested along with a teenager in an operation codenamed "Fake Monster," a reference to "Little Monsters," the star's nickname for her fans.
The suspects, according to the police, had recruited individuals online to “carry out attacks using improvised explosives” with the intention of “gaining notoriety on social media."
Authorities, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, conducted raids across Rio de Janeiro and in the states of Sao Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, and Mato Grosso.
Felipe Cury, the secretary of Rio Police, stated on Sunday, as reported by Al Jazeera, that authorities believed the suspects were targeting the LGBTQ community in Brazil as they had "clearly" said that they planned an attack “motivated by sexual orientation."
Rio de Janeiro police announced on social media on Sunday that they had foiled a bomb attack planned by the suspects at the free concert, held at the famous Copacabana Beach on Saturday.
Rio Police Chief Luiz Lima said the group behind the plot was spreading hate speech and violent content online “in order to attract more viewers, more participants – most of them teenagers, many of them children."
According to the Rio City Hall, the show, which reportedly drew 2.1 million people, proceeded without disruption despite Brazilian authorities stating they had arrested the suspects several hours before the event.
A spokesperson for Lady Gaga stated that the star and her team were unaware of any security issues “prior to and during the show” and only learned of the threat the following morning.
The statement 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.”
Tight security at the Saturday concert, with 5,200 military and police personnel deployed to the beach where fans enjoyed the pop singer's classic hits such as "Born This Way," which became an LGBTQ anthem after its release in 2011.
This free beach concert stood out at a time when ticket prices for live music events worldwide are soaring.
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