An Albany woman plotted to bomb the New York State Capitol and kill state senators in an attack inspired by the Islamic State group, federal prosecutors said, in a case the FBI says it broke open with an undercover operation that ran for about a month.
Jessica Bowie, 35, was arrested Wednesday by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force and charged with one count of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, the Justice Department said. She appeared in federal court in Albany on Thursday and was ordered held.
A criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York says Bowie communicated between July 16 and Aug. 17 with a confidential source posing as a facilitator for the group, NBC News reported. She converted to Islam about five years ago, was radicalized online and set up social media accounts under an assumed name, according to the complaint.
"I want to destroy as much of the building as possible," Bowie said of the Capitol, according to the complaint cited by CNN. She added that she wanted lawmakers to lose important documents.
Investigators say she scouted the Capitol at least five times and took dozens of photographs, including from an observation hall nearby, ABC News reported. She discussed hiding an explosive device in a food delivery bag and bought some of the materials needed to build it, according to Fox News, which reported that she also talked about leaving the country afterward and returning to carry out more attacks.
Craig Tremaroli, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Albany field office, said Bowie swore allegiance to the group in audio recordings in English and Arabic. He called the plot serious and dangerous, and credited the task force partnership with stopping it.
Bowie also weighed Albany City Hall as a target but called the Capitol the better option, CBS 6 Albany reported. The affidavit laying out the allegations was filed Aug. 20.
John Eisenberg, the assistant attorney general for national security, said in the Justice Department statement that Bowie meant to kill public officials and then flee to territory the group holds in Syria. John Sarcone, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York, announced the charge with the FBI.
The count carries up to 20 years in prison. None of the allegations have been tested in court, and Bowie is presumed innocent unless she is convicted.
Researchers at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue counted more than a dozen plots and attacks inspired by the organization across the United States in 2024 and 2025, CNN reported, even as its territory has shrunk and its reach has moved largely online.