Two men have been arrested in an ISIS-connected terrorist plot against Taylor Swift‘s concerts in Austria.
According to international reports, the suspects included a 19-year-old who pledged his allegiance to ISIS and was living with his parents in the town of Ternitz, as well as another man. Both were arrested today after police raided the 19-year-old’s home and found various chemicals and substances. Residents of Ternitz were allegedly evacuated and roads were closed during the raid.
The target of the attack was Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium, where Swift is scheduled to perform tomorrow, Friday and Saturday nights as part of her Eras Tour. Vienna State Police Director Franz Ruf and Police Chief Gerhard Purstl said during a news conference that both men had become radicalised through the internet and apparently had specific plans on how the attack was to be carried out.
Officials claimed that the threat had been minimised and that there were no plans to cancel the concerts. Ruf did note that concert attendees should expect delays entering and exiting the venue.
News of the suspected terrorist attack comes just days after a “terroristic threat” delayed Morgan Wallen’s concert in Kansas City on Friday. The man arrested in connection with the threat posted on social media that he was targeting two men who were backstage with Wallen, suggesting those men were Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes.
Swift is currently on the international leg of her Eras Tour, which will continue with its three Vienna dates before heading over to London and circling back to Canada.
From Variety US