Two people have been arrested after Brazilian Police prevented an alleged bomb attack plot during a Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.
The free concert took place at Copacabana Beach and attracted approximately 2.5 million fans to come see the “Abracadabra” singer — making the performance the highest-attended concert by a female artist in history. While the gig went off without a hitch, on Sunday, Rio Police revealed that they had thwarted a bomb threat for the packed event.
In a press conference on Sunday (local time), police revealed that they’d arrested two individuals before the concert began.
According to the Associated Press, the group’s alleged leader was arrested for illegal possession of firearms in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul and a teenager was arrested in Rio on child pornography charges. However, police did not elaborate on how the two individuals were involved in the bomb threat plot.
Police stated that the alleged leader is in custody while the teenager is being detained in connection with the threat.
After receiving a tip-off from Rio state police intelligence, police issued search warrants across Rio de Janeiro, Mato Grosso, Rio Grande do Sul and Sao Paulo. The operation was reportedly dubbed “Operation Fake Monster” and uncovered online groups sharing hate speech and violent content.
“They were clearly saying that they were planning an attack at Lady Gaga’s concert motivated by sexual orientation,” Secretary of Rio Police Felipe Cury said in a press conference, noting that one suspect claimed Lady Gaga was “a Satanist”.
Rio Police Chief Luiz Lima believed the group was attempting to gain “notoriety in order to attract more viewers, more participants, most of them teenagers, many of them children.”
“Those involved were recruiting participants, including teenagers, to carry out integrated attacks using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails,” they said.
Brazilian police thwarted a bomb attack targeting Lady Gaga’s ‘MAYHEM’ Copacabana Beach show:
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) May 4, 2025
"The suspects were recruiting participants, including minors, to carry out coordinated attacks using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails.”
pic.twitter.com/34M3Zr8Zku
Despite the alleged threat, following the arrests of the two individuals, police chose to say nothing to the gathering crowd to “avoid panic” and “the distortion of information”.
However, 5000 police officers were sent to the event and all attendees walked through metal detectors on arrival while drones and facial recognition technology were used to monitor the event.
Lady Gaga confirms that she is in front of 2.5 million people at Mayhem on the beach in BRAZIL pic.twitter.com/Wf0G4FB7Ax
— MAYHEM🎀 (@angel12w2) May 4, 2025
In a statement, a spokesperson for Lady Gaga said that the “Bad Romance” singer and her team were completely unaware of the threat until the next day.
“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 spokesperson told the media.
“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.”
Despite the intended threat, Lady Gaga has taken to Instagram to celebrate the moment and praise her fans.
“Nothing could prepare me for the feeling I had during last night’s show—the absolute pride and joy I felt singing for the people of Brazil. The sight of the crowd during my opening songs took my breath away,” she wrote.
“Your heart shines so bright, your culture is so vibrant and special, I hope you know how grateful I am to have shared this historical moment with you. An estimated 2.5 million people came to see me sing, the biggest crowd for any woman in history.”
Gaga went on to encourage her fans to believe in themselves and work hard.
“You can give yourself dignity by rehearsing your passion and your craft, pushing yourself to new heights — you can lift yourself up even if it takes some time,” she continued.
“Thank you Rio for waiting for me to come back. Thank you little monsters all over the world. I love you. I will never forget this moment. Paws up little monsters,” she concluded, signing off with “Obrigada. Love, Mother Monster.”
Sadly, it’s not the first time mass gatherings at concerts have been the target of terror attacks.
In August 2024, a Taylor Swift Eras Tour concert in Vienna was called off the day before due to a planned attack on the venue. While this attack thankfully didn’t happen, back in 2017, a terror attack at an Ariana Grande show in Manchester killed 22 people and injured hundreds.
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