Brazilian police foil bomb plot targeting Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro with over 2 million attendees

Brazilian police said on Sunday they foiled a bomb attack planned for Lady Gaga's historic concert, which drew more than 2 million people to Rio's Copacabana beach on Saturday.

The civil police in Rio de Janeiro coordinated with the Justice Department, he said the plot was carefully planned by a group that promotes hate speech and teen radicalization, including self-harm and violent content as a form of social belonging.

According to Rio City Hall, 2.1 million people attended free concerts for American pop music idols.

“The suspect is recruiting participants, including minors, to conduct a coordinated attack with simple explosives and Molotov cocktails,” the police said in a statement.

The Justice Department said the recruiter identified himself as a member of Gaga's global fan base, known as the “little monster.”

The operation is based on a report from the Ministry’s Network Operations Laboratory, which found that digital cells encouraged violence by teenagers who use coding language and extremist symbolism after prompts by the Rio de Janeiro State Police Intelligence Agency.

A man described as the leader of the group was arrested in southern Rio Grande for illegal possession of firearms, while a teenager in Rio de Janeiro was detained for storing child pornography.

Authorities conducted more than a dozen searches in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Mato Grosso, Rio Grande Duer and Sao Paulo.