Man pleads guilty to foiled terrorist attack on Taylor Swift concert

Natalie Neysa Alund and Bryan West, USA TODAY NETWORKTue, April 28, 2026 at 2:48 PM UTC

0

A 21-year-old man accused of plotting a terrorist attack targeting a Taylor Swift concert nearly two years ago pleaded guilty as his trial opened on April 28.

Beran Aliji was arrested in Ternitz, Austria, on Aug. 7, 2024, in connection with the foiled plot targeting one of the pop star's Eras Tour shows set at Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, Austria.

Although the plot was thwarted, Austrian authorities canceled three of Swift's performances scheduled in the country.

One of two men accused of plotting an attack at the concert, Aliji had been set to stand trial on charges including joining a terrorist organization, preparing explosives and attempting to illegally obtain firearms.

One of the two men suspected of being Islamic State supporters who were planning an attack on Taylor Swift's Vienna concert in 2024, covers his face as he returns in a courtroom for their trial in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, April 28, 2026.

When asked by a judge whether he pleaded guilty to the charges relating to the planned concert attack, Reuters reported Aliji responded: "Yes."

In custody since his arrest, Aliji faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced, Reuters reported.

In addition to Aliji, two others were arrested in relation to the plot, including a then-18-year-old Iraqi national and a then-17-year-old boy hired by a company that was to provide services to the stadium.

'Killing as many people as possible'

Authorities said Aliji began planning the attack in July 2024 and intended to target fans gathered outside the venue using "bladed weapons as well as the construction of a bomb."

"He wanted to carry out an attack in the area outside the stadium, killing as many people as possible using the knives or even using the explosive devices he had made," Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, Austria's national intelligence chief, said after Aliji was taken into custody.

Swift later called the decision to cancel the show "devastating," saying the episode filled her with "a new sense of fear" and "a tremendous amount of guilt" because so many fans had planned to attend.

"But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives," Swift wrote on Instagram after wrapping the European leg of her Eras Tour.

Lawyer Anna Mair gives a statement to the press, next to lawyer David Jodlbauer, on the day of the trial of two men suspected of being Islamic State supporters, who planned an attack on Taylor Swift's Vienna concert in 2024 in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, April 28, 2026Separate attacks planned in Middle East

Aliji and another man, identified as Arda K, reportedly planned terrorist attacks in the Middle East and also provided "moral support" to a third man who was arrested on suspicion of carrying ​out a knife attack in Mecca, a city in Saudi Arabia.

Advertisement

Prosecutors said Aliji used video instructions from the Islamic State to learn how to create ‌⁠a shrapnel bomb, and illegally tied to buy weapons including a machine gun and hand grenade for the planned attack.

One of the men suspected of being an Islamic State (IS) supporter, who was planning an attack on Taylor Swift's Vienna concert in 2024, is escorted by security personnel during a break in a courtroom for his trial in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, April 28, 2026.

In the concert plot, officials said Aliji planned to drive a Volkswagen Beetle into the crowd "using a fake police siren and flashing blue lights to gain access near the venue." He allegedly planned to set off a bomb concealed inside a Red Bull can and attack concert attendees with machetes and knives.

During a search of Aliji's home, Austrian police found bomb-making instructions, machetes and "chemical substances, liquids, explosive and technical devices that could be used to manufacture explosives," Franz Ruf, Austria's director general for public security, said.

General view shows outside of Happel stadium, after Taylor Swift's three concerts this week were canceled, after the government confirmed a planned attack at the stadium in Vienna, Austria, August 8, 2024.

The suspect who was age 17 at the time of his arrest was also expected to stand trial. Austrian authorities previously said the teen had been employed by a company providing services at the concert venue and was detained by authorities near the stadium. Officials said Islamic State and al-Qaida-related material was found during a search connected to the boy.

Prosecutors allege the group, ⁠all school friends, had also planned to carry out one attack each in the Middle East before the Swift concerts, in March 2024.

Hanging friendship bracelets in Vienna

Excitement had been building in Vienna for weeks ahead of Swift's long-awaited debut in the Austrian capital, with nearly 200,000 fans expected to attend three shows.

Instead, thousands of devastated Swifties took to Vienna’s streets after the concerts were called off, gathering in Stephansplatz to sing along to some of Swift's biggest hits including "The Man," "22," "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart" and "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)."

Beaded bracelets hang on a "friendship bracelet tree" to pay tribute to Taylor Swift in Vienna, Austria, on Aug. 8, 2024, after her three scheduled concerts were canceled.

Fans also held an emotional tribute performance of "Marjorie," raising their cell phone flashlights in honor of Swift's late grandmother. Others traveled to Corneliusgasse – dubbed Vienna's version of "Cornelia Street" by fans – where a "Friendship Bracelet Tree" became a gathering place for concertgoers to exchange bracelets and messages of support.

Contributing: Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich, Miranda Murray, Riham Alkousaa and Rachel More, Reuters; Brendan Morrow, Taijuan Moorman and Edward Segarra, USA TODAY.

Don't miss any Taylor Swift news; sign up for the free, weekly newsletter This Swift Beat.

Follow Taylor Swift reporter Bryan West on Instagram, TikTok and X as @BryanWestTV.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man pleads guilty to foiled attack on Taylor Swift's Vienna concert

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”