An Austrian court has sentenced a man to 15 years in jail after convicting him of planning an attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna. The 21-year-old defendant, identified as Beran A under Austrian privacy laws, was found guilty by the state court in Wiener Neustadt on charges related to the concert plot.
During his trial last month, Beran A admitted to the charges concerning the concert conspiracy, as confirmed by his defense solicitor. Despite the plot being thwarted, Austrian authorities canceled Swift’s three scheduled performances in the country set for August 2024.
In his final statement to the court before deliberations, Beran A expressed remorse, saying, “I would just like to say that I am sorry.” The court learned that Beran A had planned to target concert attendees outside the Ernst Happel Stadium using knives or homemade explosives.
Thousands of Taylor Swift fans, known as Swifties, had traveled to Austria to attend the shows on the Eras Tour. Following the cancellations, disappointed fans gathered in Vienna to exchange friendship bracelets and share their sadness over the scrapped concerts.
