The accused 21-year-old planned an attack on Taylor Swift’s fans in August 2024. Here Taylor at a concert in June 2024 at Wembley Stadium,
In the trial surrounding the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna, which were canceled due to the threat of terrorism, the main defendant will plead guilty to this point.
April 28, 2026, 1:41 p.mApril 28, 2026, 1:41 p.m
His defense attorney announced this in her opening speech at the Wiener Neustadt regional court. Your client made mistakes and he will be punished.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the 21-year-old planned an attack shortly before the Swift concerts in August 2024. He has also largely completed a shrapnel bomb. “All he had to do was put the bomb together,” said the prosecutor.
According to previous investigations, the target of an attack was said to have been fans of the US music star in front of the concert site. The 21-year-old did not have a ticket for the concerts – and he was not interested in Swift as a person, according to the public prosecutor. According to the investigation, the Austrian with North Macedonian roots had claimed responsibility for the IS terrorist militia several times.
Suspicion of incitement to attempted murder is serious
The prosecution also accuses the 21-year-old and a co-defendant of the same age of forming a terrorist cell with another man. The trio planned attacks together in Dubai, Istanbul and Mecca. The accomplice actually stabbed a security guard and injured several others in Mecca in March 2024, the prosecution continued. The suspect is in custody in Saudi Arabia.
The defense attorney said her client would not plead guilty to this charge. “My client has nothing to do with this story that happened in Mecca.” Of all the charges, contributing to an attempted murder as an instigator and motivator carries the most serious legal weight. The defendants in this case would face between 10 and 20 years in prison. (sda/dpa)