Man pleads guilty to plotting attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, Austrian media report

WIENER NEUSTADT, Austria (AP) — A antheral accused of accused of pledging allegiance to the Islamic State radical and plotting to onslaught 1 of superstar vocalist Taylor Swift’s concerts successful Vienna astir 2 years agone pleaded blameworthy arsenic his proceedings began connected Tuesday, Austria media reported.

The crippled was thwarted, but Austrian authorities inactive canceled Swift’s 3 performances successful August 2024. The singer’s fans, known arsenic Swifties, who had flown to Austria from crossed the globe to be a show of her record-setting Eras Tour were devastated, but rallied to crook Vienna into a citywide trading station for relationship bracelets and singalongs.

Austrian outlets Kurier and Kronen Zeitung reported that helium pled blameworthy to charges related to the performance plot. It was not instantly wide what different charges helium pleaded blameworthy to.

The defendant, a 21-year-old Austrian national known lone arsenic Beran A. successful enactment with Austrian privateness rules, faced charges including violent offenses and rank successful a violent organization, and his defence lawyer antecedently said helium planned to plead blameworthy to astir of the charges. He could beryllium sentenced to up to 20 years successful prison.

He is facing proceedings alongside Arda K., whose afloat sanction besides has not been made public. They, on with a 3rd man, planned to transportation retired simultaneous attacks successful Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates during Ramadan successful 2024 successful the sanction of the Islamic State group. Beran A. and Arda K. ne'er carried retired their attacks.

Only Beran A. was charged successful transportation with the Taylor Swift plot.

He allegedly planned to people onlookers gathered extracurricular Ernst Happel Stadium — up to 30,000 each night, with different 65,000 wrong the venue — with knives oregon homemade explosives. The fishy hoped to “kill arsenic galore radical arsenic possible,” authorities said successful 2024. The U.S. provided quality that fed into the determination to cancel the concerts.

Beran A. besides allegedly networked with different members of the Islamic State radical up of the planned attack. Prosecutors accidental they discussed purchasing weapons and making bombs, and that the suspect besides sought to illegally bargain weapons successful the days up of the performance. In addition, helium swore allegiance to the militant group.

Authorities searched his flat connected Aug. 7, 2024 and recovered bomb-making materials. The concerts were scheduled to statesman the adjacent day.

“Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating,” Swift wrote successful a connection posted to Instagram 2 weeks later. “The crushed for the cancellations filled maine with a caller consciousness of fear, and a tremendous magnitude of guilt due to the fact that truthful galore radical had planned connected coming to those shows.”

The proceedings is being held successful Wiener Neustadt, astir an hr southbound of Vienna. The proceedings are acceptable to proceed May 12.

Three attacks planned successful Saudi Arabia, Turkey and UAE

Prosecutors person besides filed terrorism-related charges against Arda K. successful the proceedings successful transportation with the program for simultaneous attacks successful Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

The 3rd antheral successful that plot, Hasan E., allegedly stabbed a information defender with a weapon astatine the Grand Mosque successful Mecca, Saudi Arabia, connected March 11, 2024. He was arrested and remains successful pretrial detention successful Saudi Arabia, Austrian prosecutors said.

Beran A. and Arda K. did not transportation retired their plans successful Turkey and the UAE. Beran A. returned to Vienna and past allegedly began plotting to onslaught a Swift performance there.

The Vienna crippled drew comparisons to a 2017 onslaught by a termination bomber astatine an Ariana Grande performance successful Manchester, England, that killed 22 people. The weaponry detonated astatine the extremity of Grande’s performance arsenic thousands of young fans were leaving, becoming the deadliest extremist onslaught successful the United Kingdom successful caller years.

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Dazio reported from Berlin.

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