New York woman charged with plotting to set off explosives at state Capitol, kill lawmakers

A woman who authorities said had been plotting to bomb the New York State Capitol building because she believed laws were being passed that were an affront to Islam was caught in an FBI sting operation and is now facing a federal terrorism charge, authorities announced Thursday.

Jessica Bowie, 35, of Albany, had been under surveillance for more than a month as she communicated with at least one confidential informant posing as an ISIS facilitator , according to a criminal complaint.

Operatives working for the FBI then facilitated her plans, including providing her with money to buy ingredients for a nail bomb. On Wednesday, according to the complaint, the operatives handed Bowie a gun, ammunition and an inert explosive, then gave her instructions on how to use them.

FBI agents then arrested Bowie as she left that meeting with the weapons in a bag, authorities said.

No attorney information was listed for Bowie. The Federal Public Defenders’ office in Albany declined to comment Thursday.

After her arrest, Bowie told FBI agents during an interview that she expected to go to prison, according to the criminal complaint.

“There's no helping me, you guys know enough,” she said, according to an FBI agent's account.

John Sarcone, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, called the alleged plot “an attack on democracy itself and one we will not tolerate.”

Court documents said Bowie had converted to Islam about five years ago. The affidavit of probable cause said FBI counterterrorism agents saw a number of online accounts linked back to Bowie in which she had expressed support for terrorism in posts starting around May.

Agents began monitoring those accounts and became aware starting around July 16 that Bowie wanted to carry out an attack on the state Capitol, the criminal complaint said. She asked for lessons from one informant on how to build an explosive device, made at least five trips to the Capitol grounds to plan where it might be most effective to set off an explosive, and scoped out security measures all while in contact with multiple informants, authorities said.

Pictures of Bowie conducting reconnaissance at the Capitol and buying a list of bomb-making ingredients at a hardware store — including long nails for shrapnel — were included in the affidavit. She also arranged to buy a firearm and ammunition in order to fire the weapon at police or security if needed, authorities said.

“Ms. Bowie did not just plan to kill lawmakers, she wanted a complete disruption of our government,” said Craig L. Tremaroli, special agent in charge of the FBI's Albany Field Office.

Tremaroli said she planned to flee the country after the attack, but said she would be willing to return to launch more attacks on the White House or on Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

The affidavit also noted Bowie had considered making Albany City Hall a target, but had settled on the Capitol and specifically targeted state senators because they make laws that she considered to be offensive to Islam. The legislature has been out of session since June.

Gov. Kathy Hochul's office released a statement Thursday, saying the state had taken steps earlier this year to strengthen security across state government, including at the Capitol, amid a rise nationally in political violence and threats against public officials.

“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,” she wrote.