Austrian man found guilty of plotting attack on Taylor Swift concert in Vienna
An Austrian court has convicted a man of planning to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna nearly two years ago.
The state court in Wiener Neustadt on Thursday found the 21-year-old defendant, an Austrian citizen known only as Beran A – in line with Austrian privacy rules – guilty on charges including those related to the concert, the Austria Press Agency reported.
His defence attorney said he admitted to the charges related to the concert plot during the opening day of the trial last month.
The concert plot was thwarted, but Austrian authorities still cancelled Swift’s three performances in August 2024.
Earlier on Thursday, in short final words to the court before it adjourned to consider a verdict, 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 homemade explosives. Tens of thousands of Swift fans had travelled to attend her recordmaking Eras tour.
Beran A also allegedly networked with other members of Islamic State before the planned attack. Prosecutors said they discussed buying weapons and making bombs, and that the defendant sought to illegally purchase weapons in the days before the performance and swore allegiance to the group.
Beran A was on trial alongside Arda K, whose full name also has not been made public. They, as well as a third man who remains in pretrial detention in Saudi Arabia, allegedly planned to carry out simultaneous attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates during Ramadan 2024 in the name of IS.
Only Beran A was charged in connection with the concert plot. He pleaded not guilty to the charges related to the plot for simultaneous attacks.
In closing arguments on Thursday at the state court in Wiener Neustadt, south of Vienna, prosecutors called for the men’s conviction, the Austria Press Agency reported.
Beran A’s lawyer, Anna Mair, told the court that her client was “not an ideological mastermind”.
