Current:Home > ContactCIA: Taylor Swift concert suspects plotted to kill 'tens of thousands’ in Vienna -TradeGrid
CIA: Taylor Swift concert suspects plotted to kill 'tens of thousands’ in Vienna
View
Date:2025-04-13 23:00:05
A CIA deputy said the thwarted terrorist plot at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna earlier month was intended to kill "tens of thousands" of people.
David Cohen, a CIA deputy director, got candid about the suspected terror plot to target fans of the popstar, during the Intelligence and National Security Summit, held annually in Maryland, according to the Associated Press and The New York Times.
“They were plotting to kill a huge number, tens of thousands of people at this concert, including I am sure many Americans and were quite advanced in this,” Cohen said Wednesday. “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.”
Taylor Swift cancels Vienna Eras tourconcerts after two arrested in alleged terror plot
Three people were arrested in relation to the suspected terrorist plot that had been planned for one of Swift's Vienna shows on Aug. 8-10, which were cancelled. The suspects are an 18-year-old Iraqi national, a 19-year-old Austrian living in a town near the Hungarian border and a 17-year-old boy hired by a company that was to provide services to the Ernst Happel Stadium.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Austria's Chancellor Karl Nehammer wrote in a social media post that the security situation was very serious, and a tragedy was averted.
"We have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety," said Barracuda Music, the promoter for the Austrian shows. "All tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days."
Later, Swift broke her silence in an Aug. 21 Instagram post days after cancelling the shows on the alleged terrorist plot and her fans' safety.
"Having our Vienna shows cancelled 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," Swift wrote in the caption. "But I was also so grateful to the authorities because thanks to them, we were grieving concerts and not lives."
She continued: "I was heartened by the love and unity I saw in the fans who banded together. I decided that all of my energy had to go toward helping to protect the nearly half a million people I had coming to see the shows in London. My team and I worked hand in hand with stadium staff and British authorities every day in pursuit of that goal, and I want to thank them for everything they did for us."
Contributing: Bryan West, Taijuan Moorman, KiMi Robinson, Edward Segarra
veryGood! (516)
Related
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Legionnaires’ disease source may be contaminated water droplets near a resort, NH officials say
- Billie Eilish Welcomes the Olympics to Los Angeles With Show-Stopping Beachfront Performance
- Schumer says he will work to block any effort in the Senate to significantly cut the CDC’s budget
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Marijuana and ecstasy found inside Buc-ee's plush toys during traffic stop in Texas
- Alec Baldwin’s Daughter Ireland Shares Her Daughter “Finally” Met Her 7 Aunts and Uncles
- Hair loss is extremely common. Are vitamins the solution?
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
- RHONJ's Teresa Giudice Defends Husband Luis Ruelas Wishing Suffering on Margaret Josephs' Son
Ranking
- New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
- 'It Ends With Us' drama explained: What's going on between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni?
- 'It Ends With Us' drama explained: What's going on between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni?
- Road rage fight in Los Angeles area leaves 1 man dead; witness says he was 'cold-cocked'
- Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
- For increasing number of immigrants, a ‘new life in America’ starts in South Dakota
- Who won at the box office this weekend? The Reynolds-Lively household
- Sifan Hassan's Olympic feat arguably greatest in history of Summer Games
Recommendation
Federal Spending Freeze Could Have Widespread Impact on Environment, Emergency Management
Blink Fitness, an affordable gym operator owned by Equinox, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Inside the Stephen Curry flurry: How 4 shots sealed another gold for the US in Olympic basketball
In 60-year-old Tim Walz, Kamala Harris found a partner to advocate for reproductive rights
Arkansas State Police probe death of woman found after officer
18-year-old Iowa murder suspect killed by police in Anaheim, California
'Snow White' gives first look at Evil Queen, Seven Dwarfs: What to know about the remake
Maryland house leveled after apparent blast, no ongoing threat to public