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Terrorism Charges Filed in Foiled Taylor Swift Concert Plot
Austrian prosecutors have filed terrorism-related charges against a 21-year-old man accused of planning an attack on one of superstar Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna, originally scheduled for August 2024.
According to a statement from Vienna public prosecutors, the unnamed defendant allegedly pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, disseminating propaganda materials and videos through various messaging services. Furthermore, he is accused of obtaining online instructions for constructing a shrapnel bomb, typically utilized by IS, and subsequently producing a small quantity of the explosive triacetone triperoxide.
Prosecutors also detail the defendant’s “several attempts” to illegally acquire weapons from outside Austria and transport them into the country. Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence, previously stated at the time of the suspect’s arrest that the individual intended to “kill as many people as possible using the knives or even using the explosive devices he had made.”
The criminal case against the suspect, identified by Austrian media as Beran A. and arrested in August 2024, is slated to proceed in Wiener Neustadt, a town neighboring the Austrian capital. A spokesperson for the Vienna public prosecutors’ office confirmed the defendant remains in custody.
This individual is one of three suspects arrested and charged in connection with the plot. Notably, a teenage boy involved in the conspiracy was convicted in a German court last year for preparing a serious act of violence and supporting a terrorist act of violence abroad, receiving a suspended 18-month sentence.
Austrian authorities ultimately canceled all three of Swift’s planned shows in Vienna in August 2024 after successfully thwarting the alleged plot to target the Eras Tour performances. The decision, partly fueled by intelligence provided by the U.S., left tens of thousands of dedicated fans, many of whom traveled internationally for the concerts, deeply disappointed. Concert organizers had anticipated up to 65,000 attendees inside the Ernst Happel Stadium for each show, with an additional 30,000 expected outside.
“The United States has an enduring focus on our counterterrorism mission. We work closely with partners all over the world to monitor and disrupt threats,” stated then-White House national security spokesman John Kirby in August 2024. “As part of that work, the United States did share information with Austrian partners to enable the disruption of a threat to Taylor Swift’s concerts there in Vienna.”