A planned terror attack on Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna was stopped because of CIA intelligence, officials said Wednesday.
Three teenagers inspired by the Islamic State group planned to detonate bombs outside at least one of the shows, targeting tens of thousands of people, according to authorities. They were arrested shortly before the concerts were scheduled to begin.
“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,” CIA deputy director David Cohen said Wednesday.
An estimated 30,000 people were expected to gather outside Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna to listen to the concert, a popular trend at Swift’s Eras Tour shows known as “Tay-gating.”
The plotters planned to detonate bombs outside the stadium targeting the Tay-gaters, according to police. Investigators discovered chemical substances and technical devices in the home of the main suspect, a 19-year-old man.
Austrian police said they relied on help from outside authorities because they could not legally monitor text messages between the three suspects, ages 17-19. Lawyers for the accused plotters have claimed the reaction was overblown and the charges trumped up to give Austrian authorities more power.
“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,” Cohen said, referring to the CIA headquarters.
After the cancellation, Swift continued the record-shattering tour with five shows at Wembley Stadium in London, where Tay-gating was prohibited. The tour is on break until Oct. 18, when it is scheduled to resume in Miami.