A 21-year-old man accused of plotting an attack on Taylor Swift’s Vienna concerts is now facing formal terrorism charges, Austrian authorities confirmed, months after the alleged plan prompted the cancellation of three Eras Tour performances in August 2024.
Prosecutors in Vienna allege the defendant aligned himself with the Islamic State group by distributing extremist propaganda and videos through messaging platforms, and say he began taking concrete steps toward carrying out an attack tied to the concert dates. Authorities state he “obtained instructions on the internet for the construction of a shrapnel bomb based on the explosive triacetone triperoxide” and produced a small quantity of the material.
Officials also allege the suspect attempted to secure weapons outside Austria and transport them into the country. The defendant, identified by Austrian media as Beran A., was arrested during coordinated security operations ahead of the scheduled shows and remains in custody as the case proceeds in Wiener Neustadt.
Prosecutors also said the defendant made “several attempts” to buy weapons illegally outside Austria and bring them into the country.
U.S. intelligence helped feed into the decision to cancel the concerts, with then-White House national security spokesman John Kirby saying in August 2024: “The United States has an enduring focus on our counterterrorism mission. We work closely with partners all over the world to monitor and disrupt threats. And so as part of that work, the United States did share information with Austrian partners to enable the disruption of a threat to Taylor Swift’s concerts there in Vienna.”
At an intelligence and national security summit in Maryland later that month, CIA Deputy Director David Cohen described the alleged scope of the plan, saying, “They were plotting to kill a huge number – tens of thousands of people at this concert, including I am sure many Americans – and were quite advanced in this.” He added, “The Austrians were able to make those arrests because the agency and our partners in the intelligence community provided them information about what this ISIS-connected group was planning to do.”
The three Vienna shows, scheduled for Aug. 8–10, 2024, were canceled after authorities announced arrests connected to the alleged plot.
Concert organizer Barracuda Music said in a statement, “We have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” adding, “All tickets will be automatically refunded.”
Austrian police said the concerts were expected to draw approximately 65,000 attendees per night inside the stadium, with an additional 10,000 to 15,000 people anticipated outside the venue perimeter.
The case will now move through Austria’s courts, where terrorism-related offenses are prosecuted as some of the country’s most serious crimes. Depending on how charges are applied and what a court ultimately finds, convictions in such cases can carry lengthy prison sentences.
In recent years, Austria has expanded its counterterrorism laws to cover not only violent attacks but also preparatory acts, including support, training, and attempts to obtain weapons or explosives.
