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Austrian Suspect Pleads Guilty to Plotting ISIS Attack on Taylor Swift’s 2024 Vienna Concert

The plea advances a case built on U.S. intelligence warnings and could bring a sentence of up to 20 years.

Overview

  • Beran A., 21, entered his guilty plea Tuesday in an Austrian court to terrorism charges tied to a planned mass‑casualty attack on a Vienna show, while denying attempted murder.
  • Prosecutors say he downloaded guides to make TATP, a volatile explosive, tried to buy guns and a hand grenade, and had bomb‑making materials seized in a police raid.
  • He is on trial with another 21‑year‑old, Arda K., who has admitted partial guilt, and authorities allege the pair and a third man held in Saudi Arabia formed a dangerous ISIS cell.
  • U.S. intelligence alerted Austrian police in August 2024, leading to his arrest and the scrapping of three sold‑out Vienna dates that had roughly 195,000 tickets issued.
  • The case opened at the Wiener Neustadt court and is set to run for several days, with the lead defendant facing a possible prison term of up to 20 years.