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Federal authorities have charged Jessica Bowie, 35, of upstate New York with terrorism-related offenses stemming from an alleged plot to detonate an explosive device at the New York State Capitol building. The arrest comes as the nation approaches the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks. According to court documents, Bowie converted to Islam approximately five years ago and adopted the name Aisha Saif before becoming radicalized through online channels.
The FBI contends that Bowie engaged with confidential informants she believed to be Islamic State handlers, requesting their assistance in converting bomb-making materials she had purchased into a functional explosive device and obtaining a firearm. Court filings indicate she made multiple social media posts in May praising the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks, which killed 2,977 people on September 11, 2001, and by month’s end had pledged formal allegiance to ISIS.
Between July and August, Bowie allegedly scouted the State Capitol on five separate occasions and purchased materials including nails intended for shrapnel from a Home Depot location in Rensselaer on August 5. Surveillance photos released by the Justice Department documented these purchases. Court records quote her telling an informant: “We definitely want to make sure the senators get killed for sure.”
On August 13, Bowie allegedly requested assistance from an FBI informant she believed to be an ISIS operative in obtaining a handgun. Four days later, on August 19, federal agents arrested her after she accepted $350 from informants and exited their vehicle carrying an inert firearm and dummy explosive device they had provided. Following her arrest and Miranda warning, Bowie allegedly told agents: “There’s no helping me…I’m going to prison for the rest of my life.”
According to the complaint, Bowie disclosed her plan to conceal an explosive device within a DoorDash delivery bag at the Capitol and expressed intentions to “destroy as much of the building as possible and kill the senators while they are meeting.” She also allegedly indicated a desire to flee to Syria and return for subsequent attacks. Court documents note she had lost multiple social media accounts for violating platform terms of service and had used encrypted applications to share ISIS propaganda and recruit others.
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