Terrorist Threat on Taylor Swift Concerts Thwarted After Two Men Connected to ISIS Arrested

A terrorist threat on Taylor Swift’s Vienna concerts has been thwarted after two suspects were arrested in Austria on Wednesday. Both men had sworn allegiance to ISIS and had been “radicalized on the internet,” per the Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung.

According to the publication, the two men were planning an attack on Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium, where Taylor Swift is set to perform tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday nights as a part of the European leg of her “Eras Tour.” Local law enforcement were originally tipped off about a potential threat to the concert by “foreign security authorities.”

The two suspects included a 19-year-old who had pledged his allegiance to ISIS and another man — after the 19-year-old’s parents’ home in the nearby town of Ternitz was raided by Austrian police, the authorities found various chemicals and substances, and both men were arrested. Ternitz was kept on lockdown (Kronen Zeitung claims that over half the town was evacuated during the raid) and the town’s roads were closed.

Vienna State Police Director Franz Ruf and Police Chief Gerhard Purstl held a news conference today about the incident. They say both men were “radicalized” via the internet, they both had sworn allegiance to ISIS “a few weeks ago,” and they had specifically organized how the attack was going to take place. As of now, the concerts are still scheduled to take place, and the threat has been extinguished — but the police warned attendees that with new heightened security measures, there will likely be delays entering and exiting the show.

It’s been a challenging couple weeks for Swift and her fans. A horrific stabbing occurred last week during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class for kids in England, resulting in the deaths of three children and the injuries of eleven others. Meanwhile, an Illinois man attending Morgan Wallen’s concert at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium tweeted out a threat to shoot Travis Kelce, Swift’s boyfriend, as well as fellow Chiefs player Patrick Mahomes — the man was arrested and charged with a Class E felony for making a terrorist threat in the second degree.