Austrian court gives 15‑year term for Swift concert plot

An Austrian court has sentenced a 21-year-old man to 15 years in prison for planning a terrorist attack targeting a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in August 2024. The defendant, identified only as Beran A. under Austrian privacy laws, was convicted on Thursday by a state court in Wiener Neustadt on terrorism charges related to the foiled plot.

Beran A. pleaded guilty to charges concerning the concert plot during his trial last month. According to court proceedings, he planned to attack people outside Vienna's Ernst Happel Stadium using knives or homemade explosives. The plot was thwarted following his arrest on August 7, 2024, the day before the first of Swift’s three scheduled concerts. Authorities said the arrest occurred after a tip from U.S. intelligence. Despite the plot's disruption, all three sold-out concerts were canceled, disappointing tens of thousands of fans who had traveled to Austria for the singer's Eras Tour.

In a final statement to the court before the verdict, Beran A. said, "I would just like to say that I am sorry." His defense attorney, Anna Mair, stated outside the courtroom that her client deeply regretted his actions and called it the biggest mistake of...