The trial of a man accused of plotting a terrorist attack at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024 began on Tuesday in Wiener Neustadt near Austria’s capital city.
The man, identified as Baron A, an Austrian citizen, was arrested a day before the superstar singer’s first of three planned concerts in Vienna on August 7, 2024.
Those concerts were among the last shows of Swift’s sold-out Erasure Tour, with organizers also planning dozens of other events around the concerts.
The attack on the Taylor Swift concert was planned with the help of US intelligence. This resulted in the organizers having to cancel all three shows due to fan disappointment.
Suspect accused of having links with IS, planning further attacks
Government prosecutors said in a statement in 2024 that the Austrian man had declared allegiance to the so-called “Islamic State” terrorist group by sharing propaganda material.
Prosecutors are prepared to charge the defendant with various terrorism-related crimes, as well as his affiliation with a criminal organization and making dangerous threats.
Vienna prosecutors accused Beran A. of planning attacks in the Middle East with another Slovakian man and helping a third man arrested on suspicion of a knife attack in Mecca.
Beran A and the Slovakian man never proceeded with their plans in the Middle East, which included planned attacks in Dubai and Istanbul.
“He’s pleading guilty about the whole Taylor Swift thing,” Anna Maier, Baron A’s attorney, said before the hearing began. He also said he would plead not guilty to other charges.
If convicted, Beran A. faces 10 to 20 years in prison.
Edited by: Alex Berry
*In accordance with the German press code, Deutsche Welle refrains from publishing the full names of criminal suspects.