A 21-year-old man has pleaded guilty to plotting an attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, Austria, as his trial opened. The suspect, identified as Beran A. under Austrian privacy laws, faces terrorism offenses and membership in a terrorist organization.
The plot, allegedly linked to the Islamic State group, was disrupted before execution, leading to the cancellation of three Eras Tour concerts in August 2024. Prosecutors claim he planned to target crowds outside Ernst Happel Stadium with knives or homemade explosives.
Investigators found bomb-making components at his residence during an August search. The trial is ongoing in Wiener Neustadt and set for May. A co-defendant, Arda K., faces terrorism charges related to a separate plan of coordinated attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates during Ramadan 2024, which were not carried out.