Taylor Swift's terrorist attack on the Vienna concert aimed at the deaths of “thousands”

The CIA says suspects in the alleged plot to attack Taylor Swift's Eras tour in Vienna, Austria, were aiming to create a high-casualty event with a “huge” number of victims. The information came during a briefing on Wednesday (28 August) by CIA Deputy Director David Cohen, who according to the Related Presssaid his agency discovered information that helped thwart the plan and led to the arrest of the three young suspects.

Cohen spoke about the foiled plan during the annual Intelligence and National Security Summit in Maryland, pointing out that the CIA had informed Austrian authorities about the plan, which led Swift to cancel three planned shows in Vienna earlier this month after officials allegedly discovered links between the suspects and the Islamic State group.

“They were planning to kill a large number of people – tens of thousands of people at that concert, including many Americans, I'm sure – and they were pretty well advanced in doing so,” Cohen said. “The Austrians were able to make these arrests because the agency and our intelligence partners provided them with information about what this ISIS-affiliated group was planning to do.”

The New York Times Cohen did not say how the CIA learned of the planned attack, noting that counterterrorism alerts do not always receive wide attention. But the quick work to thwart the Vienna attack — which potentially saved hundreds, if not thousands, of lives — was different. “I can tell you that there were people in my agency and other agencies who thought that was a really good day for Langley,” he said, referring to the location of the agency's headquarters. “And not just for the Swifties on staff.”

Austrian concert promoter Barracuda Music announced on August 7 that the three sold-out concerts of the Eras Tour, scheduled to take place on August 8, 9 and 10 at the Ernst Happel Stadium, were canceled due to an alleged terrorist attack intended to disrupt the shows. According to Austrian authorities, the main suspect is an unnamed 19-year-old Austrian man who was allegedly inspired by the terrorist group Islamic State. They said he planned to attack the estimated 30,000 Swifties expected to gather outside the stadium with knives or homemade explosives; the venue itself holds 65,000 spectators and more than 200,000 fans were expected for the shows.

During a raid on the main suspect's home, police reportedly found chemical substances and other technical equipment intended to be used in the attack. The main suspect's lawyer said the allegations were “exaggeration at its finest” and suggested that Austrian authorities had exaggerated the details to expand their surveillance powers. AP He pointed out that Austria's Interior Minister Gerhard Karner had previously stated that other intelligence services had helped the Austrian investigators because they are not legally allowed to monitor text messages.

Swift's concerts in Vienna were scheduled as the penultimate part of the European leg of the Eras Tour, followed by a five-day appearance at London's Wembley Stadium (August 15-20), which went off without incident. The singer spoke about the frightening terror threat in a statement last week, writing: “The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear and enormous guilt because so many people had planned to come to these concerts. But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them we were mourning concerts and not live performances. I was heartened by the love and unity I saw among fans who stuck together. I decided that all my energy had to be devoted to protecting the nearly half a million people who had come to London for my concerts. My team and I worked hand in hand every day with stadium staff and the UK authorities to achieve this goal and I want to thank them for everything they did for us.”

The cancellation of the concerts left tens of thousands of Swifties – many of whom had traveled from far away to attend the concerts – disappointed and upset, but in typical Swiftie fashion, they fought fear with joy in the days that followed. After the cancellation of the concerts, the singer's fans flocked to the streets of Vienna to spontaneously sing along and celebrate their devotion to the pop star.

Authorities had previously said the main suspect had confessed to a plan aimed at killing “as many people as possible.” He had also reportedly recently quit his regular job and “conspicuously changed his appearance and aligned himself with IS.” [Islamic State] Propaganda.” Investigators also reportedly found IS and Al-Qaeda materials in the home of a 17-year-old suspect who was reportedly hired by a company providing services to the stadium in the week before the planned shows and was arrested by special police units near the stadium. A third 18-year-old suspect was also arrested, but none of the men have been charged yet and their names have not been published in accordance with Austrian data protection regulations.

Swift is currently taking a short break before performing the final US Eras tour on October 18 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.