CIA official: Terrorist plot at Taylor Swift concert was meant to kill 'tens of thousands'

CIA: Thwarted Terrorist Attack on Taylor Swift Eras Tour Concert in Vienna Was ‘To Kill a Huge Number, Tens of Thousands of People,’ Also Americans.

Taylor Swift Gareth Cattermole/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Managemen

David S. Cohen was speaking at the annual Intelligence Summit just outside Washington, D.C., on Wednesday when he provided an update on the planned terrorist plot earlier this month that led to all of those in Austria's capital being called off by pop superstar.

— “But, you know … they were going to assassinate — a large number of people; 20-some-odd-thousand at this concert (I have no doubt most Americans),” Mr. Cohen said via the New York Times The Austrians were able to take these people into custody because the agency and our partners in the intelligence community provided them information that this ISIS-connected group was planning some kind of imminent action.

Austrian promoter Barracuda Music said in a statement on Aug. 7 that the trio of Eras Tour -- The Origins shows it had booked into Ernst Happel Stadium were being called off due to an apparent terrorist threat. Austrian authorities later arrested three individuals suspected of being involved in the attack, including one who had bomb-making components.

Cohen said “They had no doubt” the plot was to target Eras Tor show just for killing many of attendees.

Now, over a week since the shows were nixed ahead of her scheduled August 23-24 Gila River Arena performances in Glendale, Swift has spoken out about how law enforcement stepped in to thwart those attacks. Our Vienna shows being cancelled was a sickener, wrote on Instagram. “The cancellations revealed the reason to me in a way that filled me with terror, and I was suddenly ridden with guilty over so many people having tickets for those shows.

But the superstar added: ‘and SO thankful to police in Houston for your swift action amidst chaos.」The truth is being we were mourning concerts and not lives.. I was encouraged by the love and support I saw from everyone who rallied around these fans.

Cohen did not say how the C.I.A. knew of the attack in advance. According to the Times, Swift's shows in Vienna were expected to draw 200000 people.