{"id":325892,"date":"2026-04-28T18:44:46","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T13:14:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=325892"},"modified":"2026-04-28T18:44:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T13:14:46","slug":"man-pleads-guilty-to-planning-attack-on-taylor-swift-concert-in-vienna-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/28\/man-pleads-guilty-to-planning-attack-on-taylor-swift-concert-in-vienna-national\/","title":{"rendered":"Man pleads guilty to planning attack on Taylor Swift concert in Vienna – National"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A person accused of pledging\u00a0allegiance to the Islamic State group\u00a0and plotting to attack one in every of superstar singer\u00a0Taylor Swift\u2019s concert events in Vienna\u00a0nearly two years ago pleaded guilty as his trial began on Tuesday, his lawyer said.<\/p>\n

The plot was thwarted, but Austrian authorities still canceled Swift\u2019s three performances in August 2024. The singer\u2019s fans, often called\u00a0Swifties, who had flown to Austria from across the globe to attend a performance of her record-setting Eras Tour were devastated, but\u00a0rallied to show Vienna\u00a0right into a citywide trading post for\u00a0friendship bracelets and singalongs.<\/p>\n

The defendant, a 21-year-old Austrian citizen known only as Beran A. in lFine with Austrian privacy rules, faced charges including terrorist offenses and membership in a terrorist organization. He may very well be sentenced to as much as 20 years in prison, and has been in custody since August 2024.<\/p>\n

The Vienna plot drew comparisons to a 2017 attack by a suicide bomber\u00a0at an Ariana Grande concert\u00a0in Manchester, England, that killed 22 people. The bomb detonated at the tip of Grande\u2019s concert as 1000’s of young fans were leaving, becoming the deadliest extremist attack in the UK in recent times.<\/p>\n

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Anna Mair, his defense attorney, said her client pleaded guilty to the costs related to the concert plot.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter all, he deeply regrets all of it,\u201d Mair said outside the court, adding that \u201che says it was the most important mistake of his life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Austrian media reported that he also pleaded guilty to being a member of a terrorist organization.<\/p>\n

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Beran A. is facing trial alongside Arda K., whose full name also has not been made public. They, together with a 3rd man, planned to perform simultaneous attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates during Ramadan in 2024 within the name of the Islamic State group. Beran A. and Arda K. never carried out their attacks.<\/p>\n

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Only Beran A. was charged in reference to the concert plot. He pleaded not guilty to the costs related to the plot for simultaneous attacks.<\/p>\n

He allegedly\u00a0planned to focus on onlookers\u00a0gathered outside Ernst Happel Stadium \u2014 as much as 30,000 each night, with one other 65,000 contained in the venue \u2014 with knives or homemade explosives. The suspect hoped to \u201ckill as many individuals as possible,\u201d authorities said in 2024. The U.S. provided intelligence that fed into the choice to cancel the concert events.<\/p>\n

Beran A. also allegedly networked with other members of\u00a0the Islamic State group\u00a0ahead of the planned attack. Prosecutors say they discussed purchasing weapons and making bombs, and that the defendant also sought to illegally buy weapons in the times ahead of the performance. As well as, he swore allegiance to the militant group.<\/p>\n

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