The planned terrorist plot at Taylor Swift’s shows in Vienna earlier this month was intended to kill “tens of thousands” of fans, according to the deputy director of the CIA.
“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 on Wednesday after revealing at the Intelligence and National Security Summit that the information Austrian authorities used to stop the terror plot was given to the CIA.
He also noted at the summit held in Maryland that those who planned the attack “were quite advanced in this.”
On Aug. 7, Austrian authorities arrested two people accused of plotting a terror attack, with additional arrests made in subsequent days. Some of the individuals arrested were found with bomb-making materials and had access to the concert venue, where several shows were scheduled to take place in the days following the arrests.
Austrian officials said the main suspect, a 19-year-old Austrian man, was inspired by the Islamic State group. He allegedly planned to attack outside the stadium, where upwards of 30,000 fans were expected to gather, with another 65,000 likely to be inside the venue. Investigators discovered chemical substances and technical devices during a raid of the suspect’s home.
Austria’s interior minister, Gerhard Karner, previously stated that help from other intelligence agencies was necessary because Austrian investigators, unlike some foreign services, cannot legally monitor text messages.
The main suspect’s lawyer claimed the allegations were “overacting at its best,” arguing that Austrian authorities were “presenting this exaggeratedly” to push for new surveillance powers.
Swift had been planning to hold three concerts in Vienna beginning Aug. 8, with 200,000 people expected to attend. Last week, in a social media post, the singer broke her silence about the cancellations after concluding her London shows at Wembley Stadium.
“Having our Vienna shows cancelled was devastating,” she wrote in a statement posted to Instagram. “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.”
“But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives.”
