Authorities stopped a horrific tragedy from occurring at Lady Gaga’s recent concert.
Brazilian police confirmed in a May 4 statement that two individuals had been arrested following an alleged bomb threat, referred to as “Operation Fake Monster” at the “Abracadabra” singer’s free concert in Copacabana Beach, Rio De Janeiro May 3, which saw a record-breaking 2.5 million people in attendance.
“‘Operation Fake Monster’ was planned based on an investigation by the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police,” the May 4 statement, translated for Portuguese, read, “which identified that those involved were recruiting participants, including teenagers, to carry out integrated attacks using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails.”
Police confirmed in the statement that a man, the alleged leader of the plan, was arrested for illegal possession of a firearm in Rio Grande do Sul, a city about 924 miles from where the concert took place. Another teenager with alleged connection to the plan was arrested for possession of child pornography in Rio de Janeiro, police confirmed.
“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 statement continued. “The targets of the operation were operating on digital platforms, promoting the radicalization of adolescents, the dissemination of hate crimes, self-harm, pedophilia and violent content as a form of belonging and challenge among young people.”
Brazilian police noted that 15 additional search warrants were issued in connection to the bomb threat across several cities in Brazil. The threat was initially reported by the Brazilian Intelligence Agency, with further investigation carried out by Ciberlab of the Directorate of Integrated Operations and Intelligence (Diopi) of the National Secretariat of Public Security (Senasp) of the MPSP.
Shortly after news of the attack, Lady Gaga's team issued a statement saying they learned of the attack through "media reports."
"Prior to and during the show, there were no known safety concerns, nor any communication from the police or authorities to Lady Gaga regarding any potential risks," the statement read. "Her team worked closely with law enforcement throughout the planning and execution of the concert and all parties were confident in the safety measures in place.”
Lady Gaga’s May 3 show broke the record for the highest attendance at a show by a female artist in history, concert organizers told Variety, breaking Madonna’s previous record of 1.6 million people.
“Your freedom is so vast,” Lady Gaga said during her performance, per a video shared to X May 3. “Your joy, your love, Your spirit may be heard around the world tonight, 2.5 million people.”