Photo: Kate Green / Getty Images Entertainment / Getty Images
Austrian prosecutors have filed terrorism-related charges against a 21-year-old man accused of planning an attack on one of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concerts in Vienna in August 2024.
According to authorities, the suspect pledged allegiance to the Islamic State extremist group by sharing propaganda and recruitment material through encrypted messaging services. Investigators allege he also searched online for instructions to build a shrapnel-based explosive using triacetone triperoxide (TATP), a volatile compound linked to previous ISIS attacks, and successfully produced a small amount of the substance.
Prosecutors say the man made repeated attempts to acquire firearms illegally from outside Austria and transport them into the country in preparation for the planned attack. Officials have not publicly named the defendant, but Austrian media identified him as Beran A., who was arrested in August 2024 and remains in custody.
The case will proceed in Wiener Neustadt, a city south of Vienna, where prosecutors intend to pursue a full criminal trial.
Austrian authorities canceled three sold-out Taylor Swift concerts scheduled in Vienna after determining there was a credible threat targeting the events. Officials later confirmed that intelligence shared by the United States helped identify and disrupt the alleged plot before it could be carried out.
At the time, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said American counterterrorism agencies routinely share threat intelligence with international partners and had provided information that enabled Austrian officials to intervene and prevent a potential attack on the concerts.
The investigation remains part of a broader European effort to monitor and disrupt extremist threats aimed at large public gatherings and entertainment venues.
SOURCE: Billboard