Music

Man Who Plotted Attack on Taylor Swift Concert in Vienna Sentenced to 15 Years

Beran A. received a 15-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to planning to attack Taylor Swift fans in Vienna with knives and bombs.

Rolling Stone·May 28, 2026·via Rolling Stone

Man Who Plotted Attack on Taylor Swift Concert in Vienna Sentenced to 15 Years

Courts and Crimes

Man Who Plotted to Attack Taylor Swift Concert Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

Beran A. had pleaded guilty to planning to assault Swifties in Vienna with knives and bombs

By Kory Grow

Kory Grow

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May 28, 2026

An Austrian citizen identified in the press only as Beran A. was sentenced to 15 years in prison for charges related to his foiled terror plot against Taylor Swift ‘s 2024 Eras Tour date in Vienna, according to The Associated Press . Because the charges were related to terrorism , he had faced 10 to 20 years in prison.

The man, 21, pleaded guilty to conspiring an attack in April but not guilty to other charges. He was also charged with collaborating with another man, a Slovak national identified as Arda K., in planning attacks in the Middle East, and with a third man who was arrested on suspicion of implementing a knife attack in Mecca. Beran A. pleaded not guilty to charges of working with the third man. He was found guilty on multiple charges including those related to the concert.

Prosecutors had also alleged that Beran A. had followed video instructions from ISIS about how to build a bomb and had sought to purchase weapons, including a machine gun and a hand grenade, illegally, according to Al Jazeera , to attack Swift’s fans.

“I would just like to say that I am sorry,” the man said on May 28 as court adjourned to decide the verdict of the remaining charges.

A rep for Swift did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment.

The man’s plan was to attack people outside of Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium, where 65,000 people a night were expected to watch Swift. As many as 30,000 people could have gathered outside the stadium where he wanted to carry out the attack with knives and bombs.