Over 2 million people attended Lady Gaga's open concert, in Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, according to city authorities. [Photo Credit: CNN Entertainment]

Two people arrested on suspicion of planning an attack at a Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro were targeting LGBTQ+ people, police said on Sunday.

According to the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro, the pair had attempted to “recruit” people, including teenagers, to carry out coordinated attacks at Saturday’s concert, using improvised explosives and Molotov cocktails. The goal of the planned attack, according to police, was “gaining notoriety on social media.”

Meanwhile, in a separate development following police searches at nine addresses across Brazil, a third person who allegedly planned to carry out a “satanist ritual by killing a child or a baby” during the concert was charged with terrorism offenses, according to Brazilian police.

Roughly 2.1 million concert goers attended the free performance at Rio’s Copacabana beach, for what was Gaga’s first show in Brazil since 2012. The suspects mainly wanted to target LGBTQ+ people attending the concert, police said.

Gaga is a staunch advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, having previously told a rally at World Pride NYC that she would “take a bullet” for them. Last month, Gaga said that people “filled with hatred and ignorance… should be looking up to the queer community and following and learning about love, and learning about grace, learning about kindness.”

The suspects were part of an online hate group that worked to radicalize young people, police said. They also promoted “the dissemination of hate crimes, self-harm, pedophilia and violent content,” police added.

In a post on Instagram, Lady Gaga thanked those who turned up to her Copacabana performance, writing that “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.”

Alongside photos of her performance, Gaga wrote that “the sight of the crowd during my opening songs took my breath away. 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.”

Last May, an estimated 1.6 million people attended a free Madonna concert on the same beach, braving temperatures that exceeded 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) to gather for the show.

At the time, Rio’s state and city governments said they spent 20 million reais ($3.9 million) on the Madonna concert, while the rest was financed by private sponsors.

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