Lawyer for Austrian Taylor Swift Plot Suspect Downplays Attack Plan

VIENNA (Reuters) – The lawyer of the main suspect in a foiled plot to carry out an attack at a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna on Sunday sought to downplay the seriousness of the plan, stating her client was merely “playing with ideas”.

Swift’s three planned concerts this week were canceled after Austrian authorities unveiled a plot led by a 19-year-old, allegedly aimed at executing an ISIS-inspired suicide attack at a soccer stadium where tens of thousands of fans were expected.

Austrian investigators revealed that the young man had recently pledged allegiance to ISIS and made a complete confession following a police raid at his residence. During the raid, authorities seized chemicals, machetes, and other devices intended for use in a bomb attack.

Lawyer Ina-Christin Stiglitz told Reuters that the youth had only been involved with ISIS for the past month.

“It interested him,” she remarked, hinting that her client hadn’t seriously intended to carry out an actual attack.

“It was just playing with ideas,” she continued. “He says the bomb wasn’t of good enough quality, it wouldn’t have worked.”

According to Stiglitz, the youth had researched online on how to construct a bomb.

Apart from the main suspect, Austrian police also detained three other teenagers in the investigation, including a 17-year-old youth described by her client as his “best friend and neighbor.”

Neighbors of the 19-year-old in the small town of Ternitz expressed shock at his arrest, describing him as reserved yet friendly. They noted one of the few hints pointing to potential radicalization was that he had recently grown a long beard.

When questioned about the change in his appearance, his lawyer explained: “He wanted to be cool.”

Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer emphasized earlier that the country’s intelligence agencies should have enhanced authority to monitor communications on messaging apps to prevent extremists.

Source: Reuters