Current:Home > MarketsCIA: Taylor Swift concert suspects plotted to kill 'tens of thousands’ in Vienna -Summit Capital Strategies
CIA: Taylor Swift concert suspects plotted to kill 'tens of thousands’ in Vienna
SignalHub View
Date:2025-04-08 04:55:29
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! (16678)
Related
- The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
- Watch these fabulous feline stories on International Cat Day
- Who Is Olympian Raven Saunders: All About the Masked Shot Put Star
- ‘Alien: Romulus’ actors battled lifelike creatures to bring the film back to its horror roots
- Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
- North Carolina man wins $1.1M on lottery before his birthday; he plans to buy wife a house
- Taylor Swift's London shows not affected by Vienna cancellations, British police say
- DeSantis, longtime opponent of state spending on stadiums, allocates $8 million for Inter Miami
- Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
- The Beverly Hills Hotel x Stoney Clover Lane Collab Is Here—Shop Pink Travel Finds & Banana Leaf Bags
Ranking
- Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
- Paris Olympics live updates: Noah Lyles takes 200m bronze; USA men's hoops rally for win
- The 10 college football transfers that will have the biggest impact
- Katy Perry Reveals Orlando Bloom's Annoying Trait
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- California lawmaker switches party, criticizes Democratic leadership
- Prompted by mass shooting, 72-hour wait period and other new gun laws go into effect in Maine
- Legal challenge seeks to prevent RFK Jr. from appearing on Pennsylvania’s presidential ballot
Recommendation
The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
Nevada governor releases revised climate plan after lengthy delay
Flood damage outpaces some repairs in hard-hit Vermont town
Pnb Rock murder trial: Two men found guilty in rapper's shooting death, reports say
Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
Samsung is recalling more than 1 million electric ranges after numerous fire and injury reports
Elle King opens up about Dolly Parton, drunken Opry performance: 'I'm still not OK'
VP Candidate Tim Walz Has Deep Connections to Agriculture and Conservation