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FBI Foils ISIS-Inspired Plot to Bomb New York State Capitol, Kill Lawmakers

Albany woman Jessica Bowie allegedly pledged allegiance to ISIS, scouted the Capitol five times and planned to disguise a bomb as a food delivery before FBI informants moved in.

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BY OBSERVER NEWSDESK

The Weekly Observer

AUG 21, 2026 · 2 MIN READ
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FBI Foils ISIS-Inspired Plot to Bomb New York State Capitol, Kill Lawmakers
The New York State Capitol in Albany, where prosecutors say a bomb plot targeting lawmakers was foiled. (Photo: Connor Scott McManus/Pexels)

An Albany woman was arrested this week after allegedly plotting an ISIS-inspired bombing at the New York State Capitol designed to kill state senators, federal prosecutors said — a plot the FBI says she planned to carry out by disguising the explosive as a food delivery.

Jessica Bowie, 35, was taken into custody after buying what she believed was a live explosive device from undercover FBI employees, according to court filings cited by The Washington Post. She faces a federal charge of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Investigators say Bowie converted to Islam roughly five years ago and formally pledged allegiance to ISIS this past May. In the weeks that followed, she allegedly began surveilling the Capitol building in downtown Albany, taking photographs from multiple vantage points to plan her attack, according to court documents described by CNN.

"I WANT TO DESTROY AS MUCH OF THE BUILDING AS POSSIBLE AND KILL THE SENATORS WHILE THEY ARE MEETING."

According to a criminal complaint detailed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York, Bowie visited the Capitol building five separate times between July 21 and Aug. 9, scouting entrances and security. She allegedly told an FBI informant she planned to leave a bomb disguised inside a food-delivery bag at the Washington Avenue entrance. Prosecutors say she had also posted extremist messages online, including one invoking the Sept. 11 attacks approvingly.

A plot years in the making

She was taken into custody Aug. 19 the moment she gained physical possession of what she believed was a live explosive device, prosecutors said. She then made her initial court appearance the next day before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart and was ordered detained pending further proceedings, according to the Justice Department.

The case is the latest in a string of ISIS-inspired plots targeting U.S. government buildings that federal authorities have disrupted in recent years using informant-based sting operations — a tactic that draws routine praise from prosecutors and periodic scrutiny from civil liberties advocates, who argue it can sometimes shape the scope of a plot as much as uncover one.

The material-support charge Bowie faces carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and a lifetime of supervised release if she is convicted, prosecutors said. It remains unclear whether additional charges will be filed as the investigation continues.

Her defense attorney has not filed a public response to the allegations. The case returns to federal court in Albany for further proceedings, with no trial date yet set.

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