A 21-year-old Austrian man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for planning a foiled jihadist attack on Taylor Swift’s 2024 concert in Vienna. The state court in Wiener Neustadt delivered the verdict this week, bringing a nearly two-year legal saga to a close.
The defendant, identified only as Beran A. under Austrian privacy laws, admitted to plotting the attack during his trial last month. He told the court: “I would just like to say that I am sorry” before the jury deliberated and returned a guilty verdict on all terrorism-related charges.
The plan targeted Swift’s sold-out Eras Tour shows at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium in August 2024. Prosecutors revealed Beran A. intended to attack fans outside the venue using knives or homemade explosives. He had attempted to illegally purchase a machine gun and a hand grenade in the days leading up to the concerts. Authorities searched his apartment on August 7, 2024, just one day before the first show, and found bomb-making materials, including the explosive compound TATP.
Nearly 200,000 ticketholders were left devastated when all three Vienna performances were canceled. Swift later called the cancellations “devastating” and admitted the ordeal filled her with “a new sense of fear” and “tremendous guilt.”
Beran A. was tried alongside another 21-year-old, Arda K., who received a 12-year sentence. The two were part of a three-man cell that prosecutors say planned simultaneous attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the UAE during Ramadan 2024. The third member, Hasan E., remains in custody in Saudi Arabia, accused of stabbing a security official at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
Beran A. faces a maximum sentence of 20 years, meaning the 15-year term falls on the higher end of the range. His lawyer indicated she will discuss with her client whether to appeal. Both men have been participating in deradicalization programs since their arrests and have reportedly distanced themselves from extremist ideology.
