The U.S. Justice Department announced on September 12 that it had arrested Jessica Bowie, 35, a resident of Albany, on charges of providing bomb-making materials and planning an attack on the New York State Capitol. The arrest followed a lengthy FBI investigation, which officials described as thwarting an attack that could have caused significant casualties.
According to a 21-page court filing submitted by an FBI agent, Bowie was an active social media user who had created more than a dozen accounts expressing support for the terrorist organization ISIL (ISIS). In one post, she wrote, “Praise God for September 11,” referring to the 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S.
Starting in July 2024, a confidential FBI source began communicating with Bowie via encrypted apps. In messages, Bowie expressed a desire to help build bombs and identified the State Capitol as a target. One message read: “I want to destroy as many buildings as possible and kill the senators.”
The confidential source later arranged for Bowie to meet two other collaborators. One of them gave her $200 to purchase bomb-making materials at Home Depot. Photos in the filing show Bowie using a self-checkout kiosk at the store and taking pictures outside the State Capitol, which was considered surveillance activity.
According to the filing, Bowie subsequently purchased a gun and ammunition from one of the collaborators, who instructed her on how to use it. She was arrested on September 11. When interviewed at FBI headquarters in Albany, Bowie said: “Material support can carry up to 20 years in prison. I already Googled it. I know I’m going to prison.”
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said investigators stopped Bowie “before she could carry out her plan of terror in the capital region.”
This is not the first time the FBI has used confidential sources to dismantle terrorism cases. However, the tactic has been controversial. In 2009, four men in Newburgh, New York, were arrested on charges of plotting to attack a synagogue and military aircraft. An FBI informant lured them with $250,000. All four were convicted in 2010 but were released early in 2023-2024 after courts found the “real mastermind” was the U.S. government.
