WIENER NEUSTADT, Austria — A court in Austria on Thursday convicted a 21-year-old man of planning an attack on a concert by Taylor Swift in Vienna in 2024 and sentenced him to 15 years in prison.
The state court in Wiener Neustadt found the Austrian citizen, identified only as Beran A. under Austrian privacy laws, guilty on multiple charges, including offenses related to the planned attack.
Authorities disrupted the plot before it could be carried out, but officials canceled Swift’s three scheduled concerts in Vienna in August 2024.
According to prosecutors, Beran A. planned to attack people outside Ernst Happel Stadium using knives or homemade explosives. Tens of thousands of fans had traveled to Austria to attend performances on Swift’s record-setting The Eras Tour.
Defense attorney Anna Mair said Beran A. admitted to the charges related to the concert plot during the opening day of the trial. Before the court recessed to deliberate, he told judges: “I would just like to say that I am sorry.”
Prosecutors said Beran A. communicated with members of the Islamic State and discussed acquiring weapons and manufacturing explosives. Authorities searched his apartment on Aug. 7, 2024, and recovered bomb-making materials one day before the concerts were scheduled to begin.
Following the cancellation of the Vienna shows, Swift wrote on social media that the decision was “devastating” and said the reason for the cancellations caused concern for the safety of attendees.
Beran A. stood trial alongside another Austrian, identified as Arda K., also 21. Prosecutors alleged that the two men, along with a third suspect identified as Hasan E., planned attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates during Ramadan 2024 in the name of the Islamic State group.
Only Beran A. faced charges connected to the Vienna concert plot. The court convicted both defendants of offenses including traveling and training for terrorist purposes and membership in a terrorist organization.
The court also convicted the pair of contributing to attempted murder in connection with an alleged stabbing attack carried out by Hasan E. against security personnel in Mecca in March 2024. Prosecutors said Hasan E. wounded several people before authorities arrested him.
Arda K. received a 12-year prison sentence.
After the verdict, Mair said she would discuss with her client whether to appeal the conviction.
