Brazilian police arrest 2 people over plot to bomb Lady Gaga’s concert in Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO AP Police in Brazil revealed 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 biggest show of the pop star s career that sent more than 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 announced involved a group that promoted hate speech against the LGBTQ area among others and planned to detonate homemade explosive devices at the event The plan was treated as a collective challenge with the aim of gaining notoriety on social media the police reported The group it added disseminated violent content to teenagers online as a form of belonging Officers 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 Police did not elaborate on their exact roles in the plot or on how the group came to target Lady Gaga s beach concert Those involved were recruiting participants including teenagers to carry out integrated attacks using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails police explained The Justice Ministry revealed that it determined the group posed a liability to residents order It commented the group falsely presented themselves online as Little Monsters Lady Gaga s nickname for her fans in order to reach teenagers and lure them into networks with violent and self-destructive content During a series of raids on the homes of defendants across several Brazilian states bureaucrats confiscated phones and other electronic devices Even as police explained they concluded 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 s publicists and concert promoters did not directly respond to requests for comment Police stated they carried out the raids quietly Saturday in the hours leading up to the concert while avoiding panic or distortion of information among the population The ministry announced there was no impact on those attending the free concert