The plotters were arrested before they could carry out an attack on the pop star’s show in Vienna earlier this month
Terrorists aimed to kill “as many people as possible” using homemade explosives and knives at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna earlier this month, CIA Deputy Director David Cohen has said, adding that the US spy agency warned the Austrian authorities about the impending attack.
According to Cohen, the attackers, who are said to have been connected with Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), “were plotting to kill a huge number – tens of thousands of people, including, I am sure, many Americans – and were quite advanced in this.”
He noted that Austrian security forces were able to arrest the suspects because the CIA and “our partners in the intelligence community provided them information about what this ISIS-connected group was planning to do.”
“I can tell you within my agency, and I’m sure in others, there were people who thought that was a really good day for Langley, and not just the Swifties in my workforce,” he said, speaking at an intelligence summit outside Washington D.C.
The plotters reportedly planned to attack one of three Swift concerts in Vienna, which were set to begin on August 8 as part of the European leg of her Eras Tour. However, the shows were canceled by the event organizers, Barracuda Music, after the authorities informed them of the foiled plot.
The main suspect in the alleged plot was taken into custody on August 6, along with a 17-year-old accomplice, according to Austrian officials. On August 8, another suspect, 18, was also detained.
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