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Associated Press

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 biggest show 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 home-made explosive devices at the event.
At a press conference on Sunday Felipe Cury, secretary of the Rio police, said the group “were clearly saying that they were planning an attack at Lady Gaga’s concert motivated by sexual orientation”.

Rio Police chief Luiz Lima said the group disseminated hate speech and violent content online “aimed at gaining notoriety in order to attract more viewers, more participants – most of them teenagers, many of them children”.
Authorities 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 said.
Cury said one of the suspects whose home was raided in the city of Macae, near Rio, “had a religious motivation” and “claimed the singer [Lady Gaga] was a Satanist”.
The Justice Ministry said it determined the group posed a “risk to public order.” It said the group falsely presented themselves online as “Little Monsters” – Lady Gaga’s nickname for her fans – to reach teenagers and lure them into “networks with violent and self-destructive content”.

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 home-made bombs were intended for use in the planned attack, there was no mention of the raids turning up any weapons or explosive material.
A statement issued by Lady Gaga’s spokesman said the pop star and her team “learned about this alleged threat via media reports this morning. Before and during the show, there were no known safety concerns, nor any communication from the police or authorities to Lady Gaga regarding any potential risks”.
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”.
Police said they carried out the raids quietly on Saturday in the hours leading up to the concert while “avoiding panic or distortion of information among the population”.
The ministry said there was no impact on those attending the free concert.

Security was tight at Saturday’s concert, with 5,200 military and police officers deployed to the beach where fans were revelling in the pop singer’s classic hits including Born This Way, which became something of an LGBTQ anthem after its 2011 release.
Lady Gaga has expressed gratitude for the enormous crowd in an Instagram post that said nothing of the alleged plot.
“Nothing could prepare me for the feeling I had during last night’s show – the absolute pride and joy I felt singing for the people of Brazil,” she wrote.
“The sight of the crowd during my opening songs took my breath away. Your heart shines so bright, your culture is so vibrant and special, I hope you know how grateful I am to have shared this historical moment with you.”
Her free beach concert stood out at a time of surging ticket prices for live music around the world as concertgoers pay budget-busting costs to see their favourite artists. Last month she performed at Coachella Valley music festival in California, where tickets fetched upwards of US$600 for one weekend.
Rio has done this before – last May, superstar Madonna performed the finale to her latest world tour for some 1.6 million fans on the sprawling sands of Copacabana Beach.


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

Lady Gaga performing in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. Photo: AP

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Military police on an elevated platform at Saturday’s concert. Photo: AFP

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American singer and songwriter Lady Gaga  performs during a free mega concert at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on May 3. Photo: EPA-EFE

Fans cheer as they watch Lady Gaga free concert on Copacabana beach, in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: AP

Lady Gaga performs during her free concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: AP

A massive crowd surrounds the stage as US pop star Lady Gaga performs during her concert at Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: AFP

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Lady Gaga’s concert drew more than 2 million people to Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach this weekend


Lady Gaga’s concert drew more than 2 million people to Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach this weekend.


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

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Lady Gaga’s concert drew more than 2 million people to Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach this weekend

Lady Gaga’s concert drew more than 2 million people to Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach this weekend