On Sunday (4), a man suspected of organizing homemade bomb attacks at the Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro was arrested in Rio Grande do Sul state. Luis Fabiano da Silva is accused of organizing the action via social media platforms. The threat was identified in a joint operation by Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security and the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro.
Operation Fake Monster – a reference to Gaga’s fans, who call themselves little monsters – identified people who were recruiting participants, including teenagers, to carry out attacks during the concert using homemade explosives. A teenager was also apprehended.
The operation was based on a technical report by the Ministry of Justice’s Cyber Operations Laboratory (Ciberlab), which had received an alert from the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police Intelligence about the plans of hate groups at Lady Gaga concert on Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro.
According to the Ministry of Justice, 15 search and seizure warrants were carried out in the states of Mato Grosso, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, and São Paulo. Electronic devices and other materials were seized from the addresses of nine people who are under investigation.
On the accounts in social media apps of those involved, hate speech targeted the LGBT+ community, children and teenagers and promoted the radicalization of teenagers, self-mutilation, paedophilia and the distribution of violent content online. The group tried to disguise the attack as a social network challenge.
According to Rio de Janeiro’s Civil Police Secretary, Felipe Curi, those investigated will be charged with terrorism. “They were planning a terrorist attack. That’s why we’re only disclosing the operation today, so as not to spread panic. It was an important operation that didn’t interfere with the event, but prevented greater harm from happening,” he said at a press conference on Sunday afternoon.
Lady Gaga’s concert in Rio de Janeiro brought together more than 2.1 million people. The singer is known for her support of women and LGBT+ rights.
