The FBI has arrested a 35-year-old woman from Albany, New York, over an alleged Isis-inspired plot to bomb the state’s Capitol building.
Jessica Bowie was charged in a criminal complaint after allegedly scheming for weeks to carry out the attack, according to federal authorities.
She had pledged allegiance to Isis and celebrated the 9/11 attacks, the FBI said on Thursday.
Bowie, who converted to Islam five years ago and adopted the name “Aisha Saif,” allegedly began planning the bombing in July.
“Blowing kafirs [non-Muslims] brains out is beautiful,” she told someone who turned out to be an FBI informant, the complaint said.
Her plan involved hiding the explosive device inside a DoorDash food delivery bag, the criminal complaint stated.
On 5 August, she allegedly bought bomb-making materials from a Home Depot store.
Over a two-week period, she worked on the plot alongside individuals who were in fact FBI informants, according to federal authorities.
Bowie allegedly surveilled the Capitol building for weeks, photographing it from multiple angles including from a nearby observation hall.
She sent an informant images of downtown Albany with the Capitol circled, saying she wanted to strike on a “day when we know Senators will be meeting,” according to the FBI.
In a message, she said she wanted to “Target my State Capitol ideally in a way I could get away with and hop on a plane after,” the complaint said.
Her intention was to flee to Syria following the attack, the FBI said.
Federal authorities uncovered numerous extremist and anti-American posts on Bowie’s social media accounts in the weeks before her planned attack.
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On May 28, an account linked to her posted, “Praise be to Allah for September 11,” according to the FBI complaint.
An earlier post from May 8, believed to be hers, told another user in Arabic, “I will poison these infidels,” the complaint alleges.
She also spoke of her conviction that “jihad is an obligation” and recorded a pledge of allegiance to ISIS, the FBI said.
On Wednesday, informants provided Bowie with an inert explosive device and a non-functioning handgun, along with detonation instructions, before she was arrested.
During her FBI interview, she appeared to partially confess.
“There’s no helping me, you guys know enough, there’s no helping me, I’m going to prison for the rest of my life,” she allegedly said.
“Material support is up to 20 years in prison, I already Googled it before, I know I’m going to jail.”
Governor Kathy Hochul praised the FBI and other law enforcement agencies for foiling the alleged plot in a statement on Thursday.
“Earlier this year, amid a rise in political violence and threats against public officials, we took steps to strengthen security at the State Capitol and across state government,” she said.
“While there is no immediate threat at this time, we will continue working closely with our law enforcement partners to protect New Yorkers and keep our communities safe.”
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