The trial of Beran A., accused of plotting to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, has begun, according to multiple media reports. Austrian authorities said the suspect aimed to 'kill as many people as possible' with knives or homemade explosives outside Ernst Happel Stadium, and according to media reports, this plot led to the cancellation of three concerts in August 2024.
Beran A., a 21-year-old Austrian citizen, faces charges including terrorist offenses and membership in a terrorist organization, according to multiple reports. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison, according to multiple reports. His defense attorney, Anna Mair, stated that her client plans to plead guilty to most charges but did not specify which. It remains unclear which charges he will admit to and which he will deny.
kill as many people as possible
According to prosecutors, Beran A. networked with other Islamic State members, discussed purchasing weapons and making bombs, and swore allegiance to IS. Authorities searched his apartment on August 7, 2024, and found bomb-making materials, multiple reports indicate. The precise intelligence provided by the US that led to the cancellation has not been disclosed, but multiple reports indicate that the US provided intelligence that thwarted the plot.
Prosecutors also filed charges against Arda K. in the same trial, according to multiple reports. Beran A., Arda K., and a third man, Hasan E., allegedly planned simultaneous attacks during Ramadan 2024 in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates in the name of IS, according to prosecutors. Hasan E. is accused of stabbing a security guard at the Grand Mosque in Mecca on March 11, 2024, and is in pre-trial detention in Saudi Arabia, according to Austrian prosecutors. Beran A. and Arda K. did not carry out their plans in Turkey and the UAE, multiple reports indicate; the reasons for this are unknown.
The trial is being held in Wiener Neustadt, about an hour south of Vienna, multiple reports indicate, and is set to continue on May 12, according to Reuters. In a statement on social media, Taylor Swift described the cancellations as devastating, saying they filled her with a new sense of fear and guilt.