Everything We Know About the Thwarted Taylor Swift Terror Plot

One of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour stops in Vienna was allegedly targeted in a terror attack, per Austrian authorities. NBC News reported two men were arrested on August 7 with specific plans for a terror attack. The shows at Ernst Happel Stadium from August 8 to 10 have since been canceled. Below, what we know about the incident, including Taylor’s response and how the CIA helped stop the attack.

What happened?

Austrian authorities said on August 7 that they arrested two suspects who had allegedly been planning an attack at one of Taylor Swift’s concerts in Vienna. The primary suspect planned to attack fans congregating outside the stadium — where tens of thousands were expected to gather — on August 8 or 9 with knives and homemade explosives, per the Associated Press. ABC News has since reported U.S. intelligence first informed Austria and Europol, the European Union’s law-enforcement group, of the threat.

At the time, Vienna’s police chief, Gerhard Purstl, said “the concrete danger has been minimized” and the shows would go on. The venue had set additional security plans, including K-9 units and bomb squads. However, hours after the news, promoter Barracuda Music canceled the shows. “With confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” Barracuda posted on Instagram. Austria’s chancellor, Karl Nehammer, defended the cancellations on X, calling the threats “serious” in German.

Who are the suspects?

Authorities identified one suspect on August 7 as a 19-year-old Austrian man. Austria’s director-general for public safety, Franz Ruf, said the man pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in July. Police found explosives, knives, and chemicals in the home where he lived with his parents, Ruf added on August 8, per the New York Times. Ruf said this suspect confessed to the plan shortly after he was arrested. Officials are unsure if the suspect would have been able to build a bomb in time for the concerts, according to NBC and ABC, though they said he had thorough plans to kill many people.

The second suspect was identified on August 8 as a 17-year-old boy who had started working for an events company that worked with Ernst Happel Stadium. He was arrested at the stadium. Authorities said both suspects had been radicalized online. However, investigators do not believe the Islamic State directed the attack, ABC reported.

An 18-year-old Iraqi man was also arrested on August 8, per AP. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said he was not directly involved in the plan but “comes from the social environment” of the 19-year-old and also pledged to the Islamic State. Karner told AP “his arrest underscores the broad scope of the ongoing investigation.”

Ruf said police also questioned a 15-year-old boy, who corroborated much of the 19-year-old’s confession. He was not arrested, as police do not believe he was actively involved in the plan.

How has Swift responded?

Swift didn’t comment on the planned attack or canceled shows until she finished the European leg of the Eras Tour. “Let me be very clear: I am not going to speak about something publicly if I think doing so might provoke those who would want to harm the fans who come to my shows,” she wrote on Instagram. “In cases like this one, ‘silence’ is actually showing restraint, and waiting to express yourself at a time when it’s right to. My priority was finishing our European tour safely, and it is with great relief that I can say we did that.” Swift also said canceling the Vienna shows was “devastating,” but she was grateful to be “grieving concerts and not lives.”

What else have we learned?

On August 29, it was reported that the C.I.A. provided critical information on the four individuals arrested to the Austrian government. “They were plotting to kill a huge number, tens of thousands of people at this concert, I am sure many Americans,” the deputy director of the C.I.A. David S. Cohen explained at the annual Intelligence Summit per the NY Times. “The Austrians were able to make those arrests because the agency and our partners in the intelligence community provided them information about what this ISIS-connected group was planning to do.”

How have fans responded?

After the cancellation news, Austrian Swifties gathered on Vienna’s Cornelia Street (renamed for the shows in honor of Swift’s 2019 song) on August 7. Hundreds of fans traded bracelets and sang Swift songs on the street, as seen in social-media videos.

What will happen to the rest of the Eras Tour?

Tickets for the Vienna shows will be refunded within ten days, but it’s unclear if the shows will later be rescheduled. Next, Swift is set to return to Florida for three shows in Miami in October after safely performing five concerts in London last week.

This post has been updated throughout.