The Vienna Public Prosecutor’s Office on Monday filed charges against a 21-year-old man for allegedly planning an attack on a Taylor Swift concert at a Vienna stadium in 2024.
The suspect, a dual citizen of Austria and North Macedonia, was 19 when prosecutors say he plotted to strike Swift’s Aug. 9 performance at Ernst Happel Stadium. He has been charged with terrorist offenses, membership of a criminal organization and related crimes.
“The defendant is accused in particular of having participated, from May 2023 until his arrest in August 2024, as a member of a terrorist organization aimed at enabling one or more members to carry out terrorist attacks,” a statement by the office said.
According to prosecutors, the suspect obtained bomb-making plans online and received instructions from other members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) on handling explosives. He is also accused of buying materials to produce an explosive called triacetone triperoxide (TATP), and of trying to buy firearms online.
Prosecutors further allege that he encouraged another 19-year-old Austrian national to carry out a knife attack on a security guard at a mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in March 2024 that left five injured. The two men, and other separately prosecuted individuals, planned two other terrorist attacks in Dubai and Istanbul, prosecutors said.
The alleged Swift concert attacker is also accused of sharing ISIS propaganda on social media, such as videos encouraging the killing of ‘infidels’.
If convicted, the defendant faces up to 20 years in prison.
Swift had been scheduled to perform three shows in Vienna as part of her Eras Tour, but the concerts were canceled after police announced they had foiled a terror plot the evening before the first one. All shows in the Austrian capital had sold out, with around 60,000 people expected to attend each performance and tens of thousands of fans traveling to Vienna.
Alleged ISIS supporter charged over plans to attack 2024 Taylor Swift concert in Vienna
Source: Viral Showbiz Pinay
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