A series of Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna were called off earlier this week after law enforcement announced the arrest of two men who had apparently been plotting a terrorist attack aimed at the singer’s events.
Swift was scheduled to appear at the city’s Ernst Happel Stadium from Thursday through Saturday as part of her Eras Tour, the Associated Press reports. On Wednesday, Barracuda Music, the event organizer behind Swift’s concerts, said via Instagram that the organization had “no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety,” adding that they had received “confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack” at the stadium. Ticket refunds would be automatic, the company said.
The AP reports that two “suspected extremists” have been arrested for involvement in the supposed plot, but they have not been publicly identified. One of the suspects has been described as a 19-year-old Austrian citizen who is “believed to have become radicalized on the internet,” and who had recently pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, the outlet writes.
According to reports, the 19-year-old would-be ISIS member may have been planning to use “chemicals” of some sort to cause mayhem. NBC notes that a bomb squad is currently “working to determine whether the substances could have been used to build a bomb.” It added that authorities had said the 19-year-old had “bought chemicals but not all the components needed to assemble a bomb and that most likely he would not have been able to do before this weekend’s events.”
Somehow, Swift has become wrapped up in the machinations of political mayhem and extremism all over the world. Earlier this year, rightwingers in the U.S. widely promulgated the theory that Swift was a government PSYOP—a Pentagon-led plot to get Joe Biden re-elected President. Then, just last week, a stabbing occurred at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Britain that left three little girls dead. Fake rumors about the culprit being a Muslim asylum seeker were widely promulgated on social media (particularly Elon Musk’s X), spurring nationwide riots. A couple days ago, Swift’s beau, Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce, was threatened by some nutcase. Now, Swift’s own events are being targeted. It’s not exactly the first time celebrities have inspired this kind of unhinged mania, though it has been awhile since it was anywhere near this disturbing.
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