A 21-year-old Austrian man has confessed to planning a jihadist attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in August 2024, prosecutors revealed in court on Thursday. The suspect, identified only as Beran A, also admitted membership in a terrorist organization but denied charges related to a planned attack in Mecca.
The state prosecutor told the regional court in Wiener Neustadt that police discovered a nearly completed bomb during a search of the suspect's home. Beran A was arrested just before Swift's scheduled opening concert in Vienna, following a tip-off from the CIA. The threat led to the cancellation of all three sold-out shows at Ernst Happl Stadium, which were expected to draw over 195,000 fans.
Beran A appeared in court handcuffed and dressed in a blue shirt, facing terrorism charges alongside co-defendant Arda K., also 21, who is accused of being part of an Islamic State cell. The pair allegedly plotted attacks in Istanbul, Dubai, and Mecca, prosecutors said.
"My client has caused a great deal of fear and panic among many people, and he will have to answer for that, no question," said defense lawyer Anna Mair, urging the court to look beyond the headlines.
Prosecutors allege Beran A began plotting the attack by July 21, 2024, and was arrested on August 7, a day before the first concert. He is accused of pledging allegiance to the Islamic State, spreading propaganda online, making explosives, and attempting to illegally purchase weapons. Investigators say he obtained instructions online for building a shrapnel bomb specific to IS attacks and received training from other IS members.
Both suspects face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. A German teenager, Mohammed A., was given an 18-month suspended sentence last year for helping Beran A. translate bomb-making instructions and connecting him with an IS member.
Taylor Swift, who learned about the plot while en route to Austria, said the tour narrowly "dodged a massacre situation" thanks to the CIA's intervention. In a social media post, she wrote: "Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating. But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives."
The trial is expected to continue until late May.