Rio de Janeiro, May 4 (HS): Brazilian police have arrested two individuals for allegedly plotting to bomb pop star Lady Gaga’s historic free concert held in Rio de Janeiro. The concert took place on Saturday at Copacabana Beach and was attended by an estimated 2.5 million fans.

According to Brazilian authorities, the suspects were arrested just a few hours before the concert. Although the event proceeded without any disruption, some questioned the seriousness of the threat. Typically, such large events are canceled due to security concerns, as was the case last year with Taylor Swift’s concert in Vienna.

The police did not immediately disclose details of the plot in order to avoid panic and rumors. On Sunday, Lady Gaga’s team issued a statement saying that they learned about the plot through media reports. The statement said, There was no information or alert from the police regarding security before or during the show. However, the team worked with security agencies during the planning and execution of the event.

State police and Brazil’s Ministry of Justice reported on Sunday that the arrested individuals are linked to a group that spreads hate speech against the LGBTQ+ community and other classes. This group intended to carry out the attack as a collective challenge to gain recognition on social media. According to the police, this group recruits online teenagers by spreading violent ideologies among them.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar