Police Foil Plot to Attack Lady Gaga Concert in Brazil

Police in Brazil said Sunday that they had frustrated a plot to detonate explosives at a concert by Lady Gaga in Rio de Janeiro, an event that, according to some estimates, attracted more than two million people.

The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro made the announcement one day after the free concert of Lady Gaga in Copacabana Beach. The program processed without interruption, and a pop star representative later told Associated Press that he had learned about the threat of media reports.

Police said the group behind the frustrated plot had been recruiting possible participants, including adolescents, to carry out attacks with improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails. He said the group’s objectives included children, adolescents and members of the LGBTQ community.

The group leader was arrested in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul for illegal possession of a firearm, and a teenager was arrested by Ghild Pornaghhy, police said in the announcement. It was not clear immediately if someone loaded the bone.

Representatives of Lady Gaga, a vocal supporter or LGBTQ rights, did not respond to an investigation on Sunday night.

The program on the weekend was part of Rio de Janeiro’s strategy to attract important acts to play huge free concerts in Copacabana Beach. Madonna played last year.

Jack Nicas Contributed reports.