The Austrian man who admitted to the attack at the Taylor Swift Vienna concert says he’s sorry | Taylor Swift

The man who confessed to plotting to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna almost two years ago told the Austrian court the verdict of his case to apologize.

The plot was foiled but the Austrian authorities still banned Swift’s action in August 2024.

The accused, a 21-year-old Austrian known only as Beran A under Austrian privacy laws, faces charges of conspiracy to commit terrorism and being a member of a terrorist organization.

He pleaded guilty to charges related to the concert attack during the opening day of the trial in April. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

Beran A is said to be targeting people outside the Ernst Happel Stadium with knives or homemade explosives. Tens of thousands of Swift fans attended her Eras tour.

Beran A is said to have been in contact with other members of the Islamic State before the incident. Prosecutors said they discussed buying weapons and making bombs, and that the defendant wanted to buy weapons at random in the days leading up to the operation and swore allegiance to the group.

Beran A is on trial along with Arda K, whose full name has not been made public. They, along with a third person who remains in prison in Saudi Arabia, are said to be planning to carry out simultaneous attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates during Ramadan 2024 in the name of IS.

Only Beran A was charged in connection with the concert attack. He did not plead guilty to the simultaneous attack.

At the end of arguments on Thursday at the federal court in Wiener Neustadt, south of Vienna, prosecutors asked for the men to be found guilty, the Austrian Press Agency reported.

Beran A’s defense lawyer, Anna Mair, told the court her client was “not intelligent”.

In his final words before the court stood to consider the verdict, Beran A said: “I just want to say I’m sorry.”