Albany woman planned to bomb the NYS Capitol, FBI says

An Albany woman who converted to Islam five years ago and pledged allegiance to ISIS has been arrested by the FBI for allegedly plotting to detonate a bomb at the New York State Capitol building and kill state lawmakers, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Jessica Bowie, 35, told a confidential FBI source that she supported the Islamic terrorist group and asked for assistance in learning to make explosives, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.

"The allegations in this complaint are deeply disturbing," First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III said at a news conference Thursday. "That someone would harbor such hatred toward our way of life and seek to target the New York State Capitol and New York State senators. That's an attack on democracy itself, and one we will not tolerate."

Bowie made her first appearance in federal court Thursday on charges of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

For the past month, Bowie communicated with an individual she believed to be a ISIS facilitator, but who was an FBI agent, through an encrypted messaging app about her plans to attack Capitol building in Albany before fleeing to Syria, prosecutors said.

Bowie, authorities said, made several visits to the State Capitol grounds and took several photographs of the building.

"I want to destroy as much of the building as possible and kill the senators while they are meeting," Bowie wrote to the agent, according to the complaint. "I want them to lose a lot of important documents as well ... I want it to have a affect on the American system."

Bowie planned to pose as a food delivery worker to get the bomb inside the building, the complaint states, and said if she was successful in her plot she would "come back in the future and do more" including an attack in New York Eve in Times Square.

Prosecutors said Bowie converted to Islam about five years ago, pledged an oath to ISIS and adopted the name "Aisha Saif."

Bowie also posted several anti-American messages online, including "Praise be to Allah for September 11th" and "When I can migrate, I will poison these infidels."

FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig Tremaroli at the news conference said ISIS "is hell-bent on murdering Americans, destroying our democracy, and disrupting our very own way of life," said

The sting operation resulted in law enforcement contacting her and she subsequently paid an informant for a gun. The informant also supplied her with an inert explosive device. She was arrested shortly thereafter.

"Make no mistake: Miss Bowie’s plot was serious. It was dangerous," Tremaroli said.

By and large, very few elected officials have been in the State Capitol since the Legislative session adjourned in June and rank-and-file lawmakers aren’t slated to return till January.

"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," said Gov. Kathy Hochul in a statement. "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."

Bowie is being held at the Schenectady County jail; no further details were available immediately.