A woman has been charged with providing support to a terrorist group after allegedly plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on the New York State Capitol building in Albany, federal officials said Thursday. Jessica Bowie, 35, allegedly told a confidential source that she supported ISIS and asked for help learning how to make explosives, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. Bowie is expected to appear in court Thursday afternoon in connection with a single charge of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Federal and state officials announced a press conference to address the case for 3 p.m. ET. According to the complaint, Bowie converted to Islam five years ago and created several social media accounts using an honorific Islamic name. It appeared that Bowie created so many multiple accounts because providers “frequently suspended them for violating their terms of use,” according to the complaint. Several accounts dating back to Bowie allegedly sent messages expressing support for terrorism between May and July. The complaint alleges that Bowie communicated with a confidential FBI source posing as an ISIS facilitator between July 16 and August 17. She told the confidential source that she wanted help carrying out an attack on her state Capitol, according to the complaint. The building was less than two miles from her and she wanted to do something to “harm the enemies of God,” the complaint said. Bowie hoped to escape after the planned attack and, if he managed to evade authorities, planned to return for future plans, according to the complaint. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. Tom Winter is NBC’s national intelligence and law enforcement correspondent. I am a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital, covering a variety of daily news topics. My job is to timely report on crime, mass shootings, war coverage, national and international affairs, pop culture and more.
