Nadezhda (Nadya) Tolokonnikova and Maria (Masha) Alekhina took to Twitter to discuss their protest plans.

Tolokonnikova said the goal of being in Sochi was to perform a song about Russian President Vladmir Putin called “Putin will teach you to love your motherland.”

Russian activist Semyon Simonov said the two women were accused of theft, and that several other activists were also detained by police.

Simon Shuster, a reporter in Moscow for TIME, said journalists were taken into custody as well, Huffington Post informs.

Maria Alekhina (ahl-EHK’-ee-nuh) and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (nah-DYEHZH’-dah tal-ah-KOH’-nyih-koh-vah) are on a tour of New York and visited City Hall late Friday afternoon.

De Blasio, his wife Chirlane McCray and the musicians visited for about 30 minutes. A spokeswoman says the mayor commended them for “their bravery and courage.”

The two were released in December after nearly two years in jail. They were convicted of hooliganism after they staged a protest in a Russian church.

The women have also appeared on the talk show “The Colbert Report” and at an Amnesty International concert in Brooklyn. While on tour, they have been critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin and political conditions in their homeland, ABC informs.

Fresh from a performance with Miley Cyrus, Madonna used a press release to describe Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina as “my fellow freedom fighters”. The two women will be guests of honour at Amnesty International’s 5 February gig, which also features performances by Lauryn Hill, Imagine Dragons and the Flaming Lips, The Guardian informs.

“I have admired [Pussy Riot’s] courage and have long supported their commitment and the sacrifices they have made in the name of freedom of expression and human rights,” Madonna said in a statement. Although the 55-year-old was relatively late to the Free Pussy Riot campaign, she became an important champion for the group’s cause, describing their conviction as “inhumane”.