POLICE have arrested a man and teen over a plot to bomb a Lady Gaga concert on Copacabana beach in Brazil.
The pair planned to carry out an attack at the Poker Face singer’s biggest show ever using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails.
Lady Gaga performs at Copacabana Beach on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil[/caption]
The show was the popstar’s biggest ever – with a crowd of around 2.1 million[/caption]
500,000 tourists travelled to watch the the Poker Face singer[/caption]
Lady Gaga holds up a Brazilian flag for the crowd[/caption]
Rio de Janeiro cops identified the bomb threat at Lady Gaga’s concert on Saturday, according to Globo.
As part of the joint operation with the Ministry of Justice and Public Security – known as “Operation Fake Monster” – the police raided nine addresses across Brazilian cities including Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
Here they found a number of suspicious electronic devices as well as other materials.
One man – who was allegedly the leader of the group – was arrested for the illegal possession of a firearm in Rio Grande do Sul.
While a teenager was arrested for storing child pornography in Rio.
The police said the group believed to be behind the shocking plot operated online and spread hate speech against children, teenagers and the LGBT community.
It also promoted the radicalisation of teenagers, encouraged self-harm and shared violent content including paedophilia and hate crimes.
The group is thought to have been recruiting participants – including teenagers – to carry out attacks.
And investigations suggest that the suspected bomb plot was seen by those involved as a “collective challenge” to make themselves known on social media.
The police said in a statement: “The suspects were recruiting participants, including minors, to carry out coordinated attacks using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails.”
The Justice Ministry said the recruiters identified themselves as members of Gaga’s global fan base, known as the “Little Monsters.”
“Operation Fake Monster” was based on a report by the ministry’s Cyber Operations Lab following a tip-off from Rio state police intelligence.
An estimated 2.1 million people attended Lady Gaga‘s free show on Saturday marking the largest show of the pop star’s career.
The concert was paid for by the city in a bid to boost the economy – with 500,000 tourists travelling to watch the icon.
The show was the first time Lady Gaga had played in Brazil since 2012 after she was forced to cancel an appearance in 2017 due to health issues.
The massive crowd also broke a Rio de Janeiro record set last year by Madonna in a show that drew 1.6 million to Copacabana.
This comes after a shocking plot to attack Taylor Swift gigs aimed to kill tens of thousands of fans was revealed by the CIA in August.
The US intelligence service notified Austrian authorities of the Vienna plot, which allegedly included links to IS.
It led to the cancellation of three sold-out Eras Tour shows — devastating fans, some of whom who had travelled across the globe to see Swift perform.
CIA deputy director David Cohen told a summit at the time: “They were plotting to kill a huge number — tens of thousands of people — at this concert, including I am sure many Americans and were quite advanced in this.
“The Austrians were able to make those arrests because the agency and our intelligence community partners provided information about what this IS-connected group planned to do.”
Austrian officials said the main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian man, was inspired by IS.
He allegedly planned to attack fans outside the stadium with knives or homemade explosives.
Chemicals and technical devices were found in a raid on his home.
The main suspect and a 17-year-old were taken into custody on August 6.
Lady Gaga walking past fans to the stage[/caption]
The concert was funded by the city[/caption]