US officials announced Thursday that a 35-year-old woman has been charged in connection with a plot to use an explosive device to attack the New York State Capitol and state senators.
Craig Trimaroli, the special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the state capital, Albany, said that Jessica Bowie, who pledged allegiance to ISIS, was arrested by FBI agents on Wednesday after purchasing what she thought was an explosive device and expressing her “desire to carry out an attack on the New York State Capitol.”
John Sarcone, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, stated that she was charged with one count of attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, namely ISIS.
Trimaroli explained that Bowie pledged allegiance to ISIS through multiple audio recordings, and conducted surveillance operations on the Parliament building at least five times, where she took dozens of photos.
He added that she "arranged to make an explosive device to carry out this attack, and even purchased many of the necessary materials herself."
CNN has reached out to Bowie's attorney for comment.
According to Trimaroli, Bowie stated that she wanted to "destroy as much of the building as possible and kill the senators while they were in session."
It is noteworthy that New York State Senators suspended their sessions for a recess that began in June.
On Wednesday, Bowie purchased a firearm from a “confidential source,” Trimaroli said, indicating that she intended to use it against “any law enforcement officer who tried to stop her.”
He added: "When she was asked to make a donation to the person who claimed he would build the bomb, she gave an additional $200 and left that meeting with both items."
Trimaroli noted that Bowie allegedly planned to “flee the country” and later return to “carry out more operations, such as targeting New Year’s Eve celebrations in Times Square,” and she also allegedly stated that she “would return to attack the White House and the president, but only after bombing the state Capitol.”
Sarcone said Bowie espoused extremist ideas online and "spread messages of hatred and violence against the American people."
According to the complaint, Bowie said she went from “a little girl waving the American flag after the attacks of September 11, 2001, to someone who now owns posters showing the collapsed Twin Towers.”
New York State Governor Kathy Hokul said steps were taken to beef up security at the state Capitol earlier this year "amid a surge in political violence and threats against officials."
She added in a statement published on the “X” platform: “Although there is no imminent threat at this time, we will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to protect New Yorkers and keep our communities safe.”
New York City Council member Zahran Mamdani called the alleged plot “deeply disturbing,” writing on the X platform: “There is no place for terrorism or political violence in our city, our state, or anywhere in our country.”
Sarcone explained that the charge against Bowie carries, if convicted, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a period of conditional release for life.
“The plot attributed to Bowie was serious and egregious, but thanks to the partnerships in place within the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, it was thwarted,” Trimaroli said.
According to the indictment, several social media accounts identified as Bowie's sent messages expressing support for terrorism between May and July.
By mid-July, Bowie was corresponding with a confidential FBI informant who was posing as a coordinator of ISIS activities.
The complaint stated that Bowie asked the informant for help “making explosives to carry out an attack,” then deleted those messages, writing, “I would like to target the state capitol building. But ideally, I want to do it in a way that allows me to get away with it and leave on a plane afterward... but I don’t know if that is possible.”
Over the next two weeks, Bowie continued to correspond with the informant, sending photos of the Capitol building and circling locations she intended to target.
Bowie told the informant that she planned to put the bomb inside a food delivery service bag to make herself look like a delivery woman, then flee to Syria.
A week later, on August 5, Bowie met with other informants in a car. This meeting was filmed and recorded without her knowledge.
During that meeting, she confirmed her “desire to blow up the New York State Capitol building,” and allegedly told informants: “We definitely want to ensure that the senators are killed,” adding later: “I don’t want to take the risk and then only two or three people will end up being killed; what’s the point of that?”
That afternoon, informants took Bowie to a store and loaned her $200. Authorities said they bought the supplies they told them they would need, including “a large plastic box full of nails.”
Later, Bowie wrote to an informant asking for someone who could sell her "a gun and ammunition; something strong but easy to conceal, so that if the police approached me during an operation, I could shoot back."
On Wednesday, Bowie met with informants inside a car and paid $150 for a firearm (which was inoperable), ammunition, and a magazine. Later, an informant showed Bowie an inactive explosive device that they claimed had been made using materials she had purchased at a store, and gave the informant a $200 donation to the “alleged bomb maker.”
The list indicated that she said that she knew that the Capitol building contained up to 200 people, and that she “hoped to eliminate at least half of them.”
When Bowie got out of the car carrying the inactive weapon and explosive device, FBI agents arrested her.
