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Federal agents arrested Jessica Bowie, 35, in Albany, New York, on August 19 as she took possession of what she believed was a working explosive device. The Justice Department charged her the following day with attempting to provide material support to ISIS. She made her initial appearance in federal court in the Northern District of New York on August 20.
The target was the New York State Capitol. Prosecutors say Bowie planned to carry a bomb into the building and set it off while state senators were meeting. In a message to a confidential source, she wrote that she wanted "to destroy as much of the building as possible and kill the senators while they are meeting." She intended to pose as a food delivery driver and carry the device inside a delivery bag.
The complaint describes a methodical build-up. Bowie visited the Capitol grounds on five separate occasions and photographed the building. Security cameras recorded each visit. She bought components at a Home Depot near her home and handed a source $200 as a donation toward a bomb maker. Investigators say she also weighed attacking the White House and set that aside as too difficult for now.
She was talking to FBI sources throughout. One posed as an ISIS infiltrator. Bowie converted to Islam five years ago and recorded a bayah, a formal oath of allegiance to ISIS, in May. She shared the recording online. When agents took her into custody, she was carrying a firearm, a magazine, ammunition, knives and a handwritten copy of the oath.
Court documents place the plotting between July 16 and August 17, a window of roughly one month from target selection to the attempted pickup of a device. The FBI led the investigation with help from the US Secret Service, the New York State Police and the Albany Police Department. Bowie faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
Governor Kathy Hochul said New York had already strengthened security at the State Capitol and across state government earlier this year, in response to rising political violence and threats against public officials, CBS News reported. She said there was no immediate threat following the arrest. The case is one of several recent federal prosecutions in which a plot against a seat of government was identified through online activity and disrupted by undercover sources before the suspect obtained functional materials.
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