“They were plotting to kill a huge number, tens of thousands of people at this concert, I am sure many Americans,” CIA Deputy Director David S. Cohen said
“Tens of thousands” of fans were the target of a thwarted terrorist attempt at Taylor Swift’s recent Vienna shows, a CIA official told reporters on Wednesday, Aug. 28.
CIA Deputy Director David S. Cohen shared new details of the thwarted terror plot that canceled all three of the 34-year-old pop star’s planned Eras Tour concerts in Austria earlier this month during the annual Intelligence Summit just outside Washington, D.C., reports The New York Times and NBC News.
“They were plotting to kill a huge number, tens of thousands of people at this concert, I am sure many Americans,” Cohen said.
“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,” he continued.
Concert promoter Barracuda Music announced the cancellation on Aug. 7, writing that they had “no choice but to cancel” the Aug. 8, 9 and 10 performances in order to prioritize the safety of all attendees.
During Wednesday’s summit, Cohen did not disclose how the CIA learned of the alleged plot, though the agency has been on alert for other countries regarding terrorist plots, the Times reported.
Three people have been arrested, including a 19-year-old Austrian who is considered the main suspect. The other arrested suspects are a 17-year-old Austrian and an 18-year-old Iraqi. The suspects’ names have not been released. Authorities have said the plot was inspired by the Islamic State group, per the Associated Press.
In a news conference on Aug. 8, Omar Haijawi-Pirchner, head of Austria’s Directorate of State Security and Intelligence, said the 19-year-old Austrian suspect admitted to intending “to carry out an attack” at Swift’s concert “using explosives and knives,” according to NBC News, CNN and Le Monde.
“His aim was to kill himself and a large number of people during the concert either today or tomorrow,” he added, according to Le Monde.
Around 200,000 people were expected to attend the three shows combined, the Times reports.
In a lengthy Instagram post after the European leg of her Eras Tour was done, the singer shared why she initially chose to remain silent.
“Having our Vienna shows canceled was devastating. The reason for the cancellations filled me with a new sense of fear, and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned on coming to those shows,” she wrote in a post on Aug. 21. “But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives.”
Swift and her team worked closely with British authorities to ensure that her five nights at London’s Wembley Stadium ran without incident, she wrote.
“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 continued.
“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.”