What was behind the bomb plot targeting Lady Gaga's Copacabana performance? What we know

Lady Gaga performed a free concert at Copacabana Beach on May 3 that attracted over two million fans. The show was a big hit and was organized by Rio de Janeiro City Hall to amplify the economy.

On May 4, Brazilian police issued a statement saying DCAV, DRCI, 19th Police Precinct (Tijuca), Ciberlab, and the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) foiled a bomb attack at the Lady Gaga concert.

As per a report published by E! Online, the complete statement read,

"The institutions carried out a joint action against a group that was spreading hate speech and preparing a plan, mainly against children, adolescents and the LGBTQIA+ community. The investigations also included the support of the Special Resources Coordination Office (Core)."

The police named the investigation Operation Fake Monster after uncovering a bomb plot targeting Lady Gaga’s Copacabana concert. The bomb plot was reportedly planned by extremists pretending to be Lady Gaga’s fans, called 'Little Monsters,' the nickname for Lady Gaga’s fanbase.

They recruited teenagers online to carry out attacks, spread hate, and target vulnerable groups to get attention on social media through violence.

Police arrest two people over the alleged bomb plotting, including the leader of the group

According to a statement released by the Brazilian police, two individuals have been arrested. The first is the leader of the group, who was apprehended in Rio Grande do Sul for illegally owning a firearm. The second is a young teen who was caught in Rio for storing child po*nography.

The police attached the complete details of the Operation Fake Monster that read,

"Operation Fake Monster" was planned based on an investigation by the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police, which identified that those involved were recruiting participants, including teenagers, to carry out integrated attacks using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails. The plan was treated as a "collective challenge" with the aim of gaining notoriety on social media."

The statement further reads,

"The alert came from the Sub-Secretariat of Intelligence (Ssinte) of the Civil Police, which motivated the preparation of a technical report by the Ciberlab of the Directorate of Integrated Operations and Intelligence (Diopi) of the National Secretariat of Public Security (Senasp) of the MPSP."

As per the Brazilian police, fifteen search and seizure warrants were carried out against nine targets in cities, including Rio de Janeiro, Niterói, Duque de Caxias, Macaé, Cotia, São Vicente, Vargem Grande Paulista, São Sebastião do Caí, and Campo Novo do Parecis.

The police also gave the reason behind launching the operation by adding,

"The operation was launched to neutralize the digital behavior that was being coordinated, with potential risk to the public at the event, without any impact on attendees. The work was carried out discreetly and precisely, avoiding panic or distortion of information among the population."

As per Lady Gaga’s team, they came to know about the alleged threat and bomb plot through media reports after the show.

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