The deputy director of the CIA confirmed that the planned terrorist plot at Taylor Swift’s shows in Vienna earlier this month was intended to kill “a huge number” of people – including Americans.
David S. Cohen revealed at the Intelligence and National Security Summit, as seen in a video on CSPAN, that the information Austrian authorities used to stop the terror plot from occurring was given to the CIA.
“They were plotting to kill a huge number, tens of thousands of people at this concert, I am sure many Americans,” Cohen said. “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.”
Swift’s representative did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
In early August, Swift canceled three of her Austria shows at Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna after she was made aware of a planned bomb.
On Aug. 7, authorities arrested a 17-year-old male and a 19-year-old male for allegedly plotting terror attacks on Swift’s Vienna shows, set for Aug. 8-10 at Ernst Happel Stadium. An 18-year-old male was arrested on Aug. 8.
A 15-year-old male has been questioned by police but has not been named as a suspect.
Swift called the cancellations “devastating” at the time in a post on social media days after her Vienna shows were expected to take place.
“Walking onstage in London was a rollercoaster of emotions,” Swift wrote in a social media post. “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. 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. Let me be very clear: I am not going to speak about something publicly if I think doing so might provoke those who would want to harm the fans who come to my shows.”
Swift had been silent on the cancelations, but per her post, she felt it was necessary to protect herself and fans.
“In cases like this one, ‘silence’ is actually showing restraint, and waiting to express yourself at a time when it’s right to. My priority was finishing our European tour safely, and it is with great relief that I can say we did that,” the “Cruel Summer” singer wrote.
Concert organizers in Austria said they had expected up to 65,000 fans inside the stadium at each concert and as many as 30,000 onlookers outside, where authorities said the suspects planned to strike.
At least one of the suspects confessed to wanting to “kill as many people as possible outside the concert venue.”
Bomb-making materials were also found in at least one of the teens’ homes. The 19-year-old male had bomb-making manuals in his possession along with homemade explosives, detonators and hydrogen peroxide, according to NBC.
Authorities found ISIS and al Qaeda materials at the home of the 17-year-old.
Due to Austrian privacy laws, the names of the suspects have not been released to the public.
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Source: The Wall Street Journal
