Brazilian police said they had foiled a planned terrorist attack on Lady Gaga’s concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro last night, which was attended by more than two million people.
The Rio de Janeiro State Civil Police, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, said the attack was organized by a group that spreads hate speech and encourages radicalization among teenagers, promoting self-harm and violent content as a form of social belonging.
“The suspects recruited participants, including minors, for coordinated attacks using improvised explosive devices and Molotov cocktails,” the police said.
The Ministry of Justice also said the suspects identified themselves as Lady Gaga fans known as “Little Monsters.”
The police operation “Fake Monster” was launched after a tip-off from intelligence services. Previously, online groups that incite violence among teenagers using coded language and extremist symbolism were discovered.
The leader of the group, who is described as the organizer of the attack, was arrested in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul for illegal possession of firearms, while a teenager was arrested in Rio de Janeiro after child pornography was found on his computer.
Recall that this is Gaga’s biggest concert to date, which was fully financed by the city as part of an initiative to stimulate the local economy, and it is estimated that the event could bring in revenue of around $ 100 million.
The concert was part of a promotional tour for her eighth studio album “Mayhem”, from which the hits “Abracadabra” and “Die With a Smile” have already stood out. Since Gaga has not performed in Brazil since 2012, numerous fans – known as “Little Monsters”, began to gather from the early morning hours, patiently waiting in long lines to take their seats in a fenced-in area of the beach, Klix.ba writes.
