How CIA tip-off saved Taylor Swift fans from Vienna horror

A 21-year-old Austrian man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after he was found guilty of planning a jihadist attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna.

The man, identified only as Beran A under Austrian privacy laws, was convicted of plotting the attack during Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour in August 2024.

He was arrested shortly before the first of three sold-out concerts scheduled to hold at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium, following a tip-off from the CIA.

The concerts were immediately cancelled, leaving nearly 200,000 fans devastated and forcing authorities to tighten security around the global pop star’s tour.

Prosecutors said Beran A had become radicalised and had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group.

They told the court that he attempted to obtain weapons illegally but failed.

The court in Wiener Neustadt, south of Vienna, also found him guilty of other terrorism-related offences.

A court psychiatrist, Peter Hoffmann, said the convict showed no signs of mental illness, adding that there was “no psychiatric explanation” for his radicalisation.

Another 21-year-old man, Arda K from Slovakia, was also sentenced to 12 years in prison after he was found guilty of being part of an Islamic State-linked cell.

However, the court said Arda K was not involved in the plot against Swift’s Vienna concerts.

Before the jury retired to consider its verdict, Beran A told the court he was sorry.

Swift had earlier described the foiled attack as a terrifying moment, saying it left her with “a new sense of fear.”

The American singer said the cancellations brought her “a tremendous amount of guilt,” but added that she was grateful to authorities for preventing a tragedy.

“Thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives,” Swift wrote on Instagram.