Man jailed for 15 years over foiled Taylor Swift concert attack plot in Austria
Austrian court convicts 21-year-old over planned 2024 bombing that forced the cancellation of concerts
An Austrian court on Thursday convicted a man of planning to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna nearly two years ago. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The state court in Wiener Neustadt, south of the capital, found the 21-year-old defendant, an Austrian citizen known only as Beran A in line with Austrian privacy rules, guilty on multiple charges including those related to the concert.
The concert plot was thwarted, but Austrian authorities still cancelled Swift’s three performances in August 2024.
His defence lawyer said Beran A admitted to the charges related to the concert plot during the opening day of the trial last month.
In brief final words to the court before it adjourned to consider a verdict on Thursday, Beran A said: “I would just like to say that I am sorry”.
Beran A allegedly planned to target people outside the Ernst Happel Stadium with knives or home-made explosives. Tens of thousands of Taylor Swift fans, known as Swifties, had travelled to Austria to attend the performances of the American singer’s record-setting Eras Tour. Devastated by the cancellations, many gathered in central Vienna to trade friendship bracelets and commiserate.
