Austrian Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Attack on Taylor Swift Concerts

By Brian Hiatt

Brian Hiatt

A 21-year-old Austrian man pleaded guilty Tuesday to plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on Taylor Swift’s three sold-out Eras Tour shows in Vienna in August 2024.

On the opening day of his trial in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, the defendant — identified in court only as Beran A. under the nation’s privacy rules — also admitted to belonging to a terror cell. However, he pleaded not guilty to separate charges tied to planned attacks across the Middle East, according to the BBC.

Austrian police arrested Beran A. on Aug. 7, 2024, one day before Swift was scheduled to play her first show at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium.  “My client has caused a great deal of fear and panic among many people, and he will have to answer for that, no question,” the defendant’s lawyer, Anna Mair reportedly told the court. “But please try to look beyond the headlines.” 

Officials revealed in 2024 that they had prevented the attack, but Swift’s concerts were were still canceled. When Austrian authorities raided Beran A.’s home before the first show, they recovered what prosecutors described in court as a nearly finished bomb. According to the indictment, the defendant prepared for the attack for at least a month, following ISIS instructional videos.

Authorities said in 2024 that Beran A.’s aim was to “kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue.”

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