Lawyer for suspect in Taylor Swift Vienna terror plot says accusations are exaggerated

The lawyer representing the main suspect in the alleged Taylor Swift Vienna terror plot has claimed that the accusations against their client have been exaggerated.

Last week, all three of the pop star’s ‘Eras Tour’ shows in Vienna were cancelled, after it was revealed that two people had been arrested for allegedly plotting a terror attack during the gigs.

Swift was set to play at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium on Thursday (August 8), Friday (9) and Saturday (10), but event organiser Barracuda Music confirmed that it had “no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety”.

A 19-year-old main suspect was arrested in Ternitz, south of Vienna, and a second person in the Austrian capital. It was widely reported that the former had pledged an oath of allegiance to the Islamic State group and had reportedly wanted to use knives or self-made explosives outside the Ernst Happel Stadium to kill as many people as possible (via Sky News).

It was later reported by numerous outlets that a police search of his house reportedly led to chemicals, explosives, knives and machetes being found.

Now, the lawyer representing the suspect – who has not been named in line with Austrian privacy rules – has claimed that the accusations raised against him have been exaggerated.

“He had neither the means nor the possibility and the explosives to carry this out,” defense lawyer Werner Tomanek said (as per Associated Press). He went on to add that “the alleged attack plans were pure fantasies.”

Speaking about the reports that the teenage suspect had posted an oath of allegiance to the current leader of Islamic State online weeks earlier (as stated by Head of the Directorate of State Security and Intelligence, Omar Haijawi-Pirchner in a press conference), Tomanek said that his client had admitted “in principle to Islamist tendencies” because “he found it cool.”

On August 8, the 19-year-old confessed to planning a terror attack at one of the pop star’s Vienna shows, and authorities confirmed that a “tragedy was prevented” with his arrest.

It was later reported that a third suspect had been arrested by police in the area after allegedly being in contact with the main suspect.

There was some debate as to whether the shows in London would continue as scheduled given the circumstances, and police at Scotland Yard later confirmed that the remaining Wembley gigs should “not [be] impacted” by the Vienna terror plot.

That being said, the London venue did re-emphasise that ‘Tay-gating’ – a term for when eager Swifties without tickets gather outside venues where the singer is performing – has been banned,  and the stage times have since been altered, meaning that the shows start earlier than usual.

The five upcoming shows will take place between tomorrow (August 15) and next Tuesday (August 20), and will feature support from Raye, Holly Humberstone, Suki Waterhouse and Paramore.

They also follow on from her first run of London shows at the stadium back in June.

In a five-star review of her UK ‘Eras Tour’ opener in Edinburgh, NME wrote: “Despite being an arena show, in a huge, cavernous venue, Swift and her fans have managed to cultivate a community.

“Strangers swap friendship bracelets, laugh and cry together, and embrace the tour’s in-jokes and lore (for example shouting “one, two, three, let’s go bitch” during ‘Delicate’). It’s the power of Swift, an artist who’s inspired not only the renaming of a Scottish Loch, but also countless fans to come out and embrace being a part of the Eras family.

“With the ‘Eras Tour’, then, Swift’s managed to craft a marvel of a show that comes with a beating heart.”

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