Woman arrested in plot to bomb New York State Capitol

Federal agents and police detectives have arrested a 35-year-old woman who prosecutors say was planning to bomb the New York State Capitol, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court on Thursday.

The woman, Jessica Bowie, was charged with one count of attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, according to the complaint. A lawyer for Bowie could not be immediately identified, and she could not be reached for comment.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a written statement that there was no immediate threat and that her administration had taken steps to increase security around the Capitol and other government buildings “amid a rise in political violence and threats against public officials.”

“I’m grateful to the FBI for leading this investigation and to the New York State Police for their work to apprehend this dangerous individual,” she added.

In the complaint, Joshua Parker, an FBI special agent assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Albany, the state capital, detailed how agents used Bowie’s social media posts to identify her as a potential threat and mounted a sting operation to arrest her. Law enforcement officials were expected to speak about the case Thursday afternoon in Albany.

Bowie told an FBI informant that she had been contemplating an attack “more seriously” in the past four to six months, according to the complaint. She also posted messages of support on social media, including one praising the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and the Pentagon.

In mid-July, an FBI informant pretending to be a “facilitator” began talking with Bowie about “her plans to attack the New York State Capitol building in Albany,” according to the complaint. Bowie told this informant she lived near the Capitol and wanted help building a bomb.

The complaint describes an audio message that Parker claims is Bowie pledging her allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Over the past month, Bowie scouted the building, which includes Hochul’s office, at least five times. The complaint includes images from security cameras that show someone taking photos of the Capitol building and its surrounding complex.

On Aug. 5, Bowie met with two other informants, who explained to her what materials she would need to make a bomb, according to the complaint. The complaint then says that one of the informants gave her $200, and later that day Bowie went to a nearby Home Depot and bought a bin full of nails, among other things.

She told these informants that she wanted to try to “get a good enough explosive in there to kill the senators and ideally to destroy as much of the building as possible,” according to a transcript of a recorded conversation included in the complaint.

Last week, Bowie asked these informants for help buying a gun, according to the complaint. On Wednesday, they met her in a car to explain how to operate and detonate the bomb she was planning to build.

When she exited the vehicle, FBI agents arrested her.

The complaint states that Bowie told agents in an interview: “There’s no helping me. You guys know enough.” She added that she had found on Google that she faced as many as 20 years in prison if she was convicted of what she was accused of doing, the complaint said.