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

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”.