The suspects of the failed plot to attack the concerts of Taylor Swift in Vienna Earlier this month they were seeking to kill “tens of thousands” of fanatics before the INC discovered intelligence which disrupted their planning and led to arrests, said the deputy director of the agency United States.
The INC notified the authorities Austrian authorities over the plan, which allegedly included links to the Islamic State group. intelligence and subsequent arrests eventually led to the cancellation of three shows of the tour It was a sold-out show, heartbreaking for fans who had traveled around the world to see Swift in concert.
The deputy director of the INCDavid Cohen, addressed the failed plot during the annual Intelligence and National Security Summit, held this week in Maryland.
“They were plotting to kill large numbers, tens of thousands of people, in this concertincluding, I’m sure, many Americans, and they were quite advanced in this,” Cohen said Wednesday. “The Austrians were able to make those arrests because the agency and our partners in the community intelligence They provided them with information about what this group connected with ISIS planned to do.”
The authorities Austrian authorities said the main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian man, was inspired by the Islamic State group. He was allegedly planning to attack outside the stadium with knives or homemade explosives, where more than 30,000 fans were expected to gather. Another 65,000 fans were likely to be inside the venue. Investigators discovered chemical substances and technical devices during a search of the suspect’s home.
The Minister of the Interior of AustriaGerhard Karner said earlier that help was needed from other agencies. intelligence because Austrian investigators, unlike some foreign services, cannot legally monitor text messages.
The lawyer of the young 19-year-old has said that the accusations were “overreacting to the max” and maintained that the authorities Austrian authorities were “overreacting” to gain new surveillance powers.
Swift broke her silence on the cancellations last week after he concluded his series of concerts in London.
“That our shows in Vienna were cancelled was devastating“, he wrote in a statement posted on Instagram. “The reason for the cancellations It filled me with a new sense of fear and a tremendous amount of guilt because so many people had planned to come to those concerts“.
He thanked the authorities -“Thanks to them, we were mourning for the concerts and not for lives,” he wrote – and said he waited to speak until the European leg of his tour You were to prioritize the security.
“Let me be very clear: I am not going to talk about something publicly Yes, I think that doing so could provoke those who would want to damage to the fans who come to my shows,” he wrote.
He publicist Swift did not immediately respond to a request for comment. comments on Thursday.
Cancellations
The promoter of the concertBarracuda Music said it has cancelled all three nights of the tour in Viennawhich would have begun on August 8, because the arrests made in connection with the plot occurred very close to the presentations.
The prime suspect and a young 17-year-olds were arrested on August 6, a day before the announcement of the cancellationsA third suspect, aged 18, was arrested on August 8. Their names have not been released according to police. rules Austrian privacy regulations.
The concerts in London, the next stop on the tour after Viennaoccurred shortly after a stabbing at a Swift-themed dance class that left three girls dead in the UK. In a statement released after the Southport attack, Swift said she was “completely in shock” and “at a loss for how to express my condolences to these families.” Media outlets reported that Swift met with some of the survivors backstage in London.
He plot of Vienna also generated comparisons with the 2017 attack perpetrated by a suicide bomber in a concert Ariana Grande’s performance in Manchester, England, which left 22 people dead. A bomb was detonated at the end of the concert Grande as thousands of young fans stormed out of the arena, making it the deadliest extremist attack in the UK in recent years.
Cohen on Wednesday praised the work of the INC to prevent the violence planned, saying other anti-terrorist “successes” that foil plots often go unnoticed.
“I can tell you that, inside me agencyand I’m sure in others, there were people who thought it was a really good day for Langley“he said, referring to the headquarters of the INC“And not just the Swifties on my team.”
The tour Swift, who has broken records for sales ticketsis on hiatus until fall.
