A bomb plot targeting Lady Gaga’s historic concert in Copacabana Beach was thwarted by Brazilian police, authorities confirmed on Saturday.
The free show, which have attended more than 2.1 million fans, has become the largest crowd of concerts in the recent history of Rio de Janeiro, but it was almost tainted by an attempt at terrorist attack orchestrated by a radical online group.
According to Brazilian federal police, the suspects behind the foiled plan were part of a network promoting the speech of hatred, violent extremism and the radicalization of adolescents.
The group would have used social media platforms to spread the coded language and extremist symbols, encouraging minors to join a “collective challenge” involving improvised explosive devices (IED) and Molotov cocktails, according to Daily mail.
Regarding this, the police said in a statement: “The suspects recruited participants, including minors, to carry out coordinated attacks”.
The authorities believe that the attackers sought to gain notoriety on social networks thanks to violent violence.
The Brazilian Ministry of Justice has revealed that some of the suspects have identified as members of the global Gaga fans base, the “Little Monsters”, using this association as a cover to recruit vulnerable young people in their ranks, according to the publication.
An investigation by the ministry’s cyber operations laboratory, launched after a warning from Rio State Police Intelligence, discovered several digital cells distributed in harmful content disguised as Fandom engagement.
A man who would be the leader of the group was arrested in Rio Grande Do Sul for illegal possession of a firearm.
Meanwhile, a teenager from Rio de Janeiro was placed in police custody for the storage of juvenile pornography – exposing more disturbing tactics employed to attract minors.
Police have executed more than a dozen research and crisis mandates in four Brazilian states: Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Mato Grosso and Rio Grande Do Sul.
The authorities stressed that the attackers were motivated not by any ideological cause, but by a twisted desire for renowned and online validation in their radicalized circles.
Lady Gaga is now joining the ranks of international stars like Madonna and Rod Stewart, who have already attracted a massive audience in Copacabana.
Madonna’s concert in 2023 attracted 1.6 million fans, while Stewart’s New Year’s show in 1994 brought more than 4 million.
