An Austrian court on Thursday sentenced a 21-year-old man who admitted planning a foiled terrorist attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024 to 15 years in prison, finding him guilty of various, mainly terrorism-related offences.
Beran A, whose last name has not been made public in accordance with Austrian privacy rules, was arrested on August 7, 2024, the day before the first of three planned concerts by the US pop star in the Austrian capital.
All three dates were then cancelled, to the dismay of fans and of Swift, who wrote afterwards that it was “devastating.” While crowds of disappointed fans sang together in Vienna then to console themselves, neither Swift nor any Swifties appeared at the trial in Wiener Neustadt, a town south of the capital.
Beran A, who is Austrian, pleaded guilty to charges related to the planned attack, which carried a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He covered his face with a ring binder as he entered the courtroom to avoid being identifiable in pictures.
“I would just like to say that I am sorry,” he said in a final statement before the jury retired to deliberate.
