A defense lawyer for one of the three suspects arrested in connection to the foiled terror plot that led to the cancellation of Taylor Swift’s three sold-out concerts in Vienna claimed authorities have exaggerated their case against his client.
Per the Associated Press, attorney Werner Tomanek, who represents the 19-year-old suspect, said the teenager “had neither the means nor the possibility and the explosives to carry this out.”
Officials have said the teenager planned to attack the stadium’s perimeter by driving into the crowd, with the intent to kill as many people as possible with knives or homemade explosives. Austrian officials also say that investigators found chemical substances and technical devices in the suspect’s home. In response, Tomanek called the authorities’ allegations “overacting at its best,” adding that officials are “presenting this exaggeratedly” to grow the reach of their surveillance.
Tomanek told the Austrian Press Agency that he hadn’t yet had access to case files but cited a “fragmentary record” of his client’s initial questioning, disputing that his statements amounted to a full confession. Tomanek describes his client, who hasn’t been named by Austrian officials due to privacy protocols, as “a lone wolf without social contacts.” He added that “the alleged attack plans were pure fantasies” of a man with apparent mental health issues.
In addition to the 19-year-old, two other teenagers have been detained in relation to the case, though Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner confirmed that the third suspect, an 18-year-old who was arrested days later, was “not directly connected to the attack plans.”
The main suspect and a 17-year-old were arrested last Tuesday, ahead of Swift’s shows set to take place August 8-10 at Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium. Last week, Karner said that the primary suspect had recently signed an online oath to ISIS, while the second teenager also had ISIS and Al Qaeda material at his home.
The main suspect’s lawyer agreed that his client had admitted “in principle to Islamist tendencies” and made “contact with such people online” but said that he deleted his online pledge to the Islamic State group shortly after. When asked why his client made the pledge, Tomanek replied, “Because he found it cool.”
Swift has not yet spoken out about the attempted attacks. She is set to close the European leg of her Eras tour with five concerts at London’s Wembley Stadium starting on Thursday. Security for the upcoming shows will be heightened and fans have been encouraged not to gather outside the stadium.