FBI Arrests Albany Woman in Alleged ISIS Plot to Bomb NY Capitol

An Albany woman is facing a federal terrorism charge after prosecutors said she plotted to bomb the New York State Capitol and kill state senators while they met. Jessica Bowie, 35, was arrested by FBI agents and charged with one count of attempting to provide material support or resources to ISIS.

Bowie was taken into custody after she bought supplies she believed would build a bomb and accepted what she thought was a working explosive device from an FBI informant, according to the criminal complaint filed in the Northern District of New York. She wanted to strike when senators were in the building. The legislature had been out of session since June and is not due back until January.

The device was inert and controlled by FBI operatives the entire time. Hochul said there had never been any active danger to the Capitol and that there were no specific, credible threats against it.

She planned to plant the bomb as a food delivery

Bowie told the informants she would hide the explosive in a bag that looked like a food order. In her own words, she planned to put the bomb in "a bag that looks like food delivery so when I place it I look like a food delivery person." She talked specifically about using DoorDash bags to blend in.

The disguise was more than talk. Investigators say that the day after one meeting, Bowie handed over delivery-service bags she had discussed using in the attack. She figured a delivery worker walking up to the building would draw no attention, which was the entire point.

Five visits and dozens of photos

The Capitol sat less than two miles from Bowie's home, and she treated it like a target she needed to study. She walked around the building roughly five times between July 21 and August 9, taking photographs of the structure, the grounds and the security, prosecutors say.

Her surveillance was casual on purpose. Bowie told an FBI source she made a point of having picnics near the Capitol and drinking coffee nearby so she could watch the building without standing out. Surveillance teams and cameras caught her doing exactly that, and she sent the images she took to the informant.

"Kill the senators while they are meeting"

Bowie was blunt about what she wanted, according to messages quoted in the affidavit. "I want to destroy as much of the building as possible and kill the senators while they are meeting," she wrote to the FBI source. "I want them to lose a lot of important documents as well."

On August 5, she met two informants inside a car in Albany. The meeting was secretly filmed and recorded. During it, she reaffirmed her plan and allegedly said, "we definitely want to make sure the senators get killed for sure."

She had also done the math on how many people she could hurt. Bowie told the sources she had learned the Capitol held as many as 200 people and said she hoped to kill at least half of them.

The Home Depot run

That same August 5 afternoon, the informants drove Bowie to a Home Depot in Rensselaer and gave her $200 in government funds. She used the money to buy the materials she had been told she would need, including a large plastic bin filled with nails.

On August 13 she asked an FBI source about getting a concealable handgun, to use if police approached her during the attack. Six days later the sources showed her an inert explosive device they said was built from the supplies she had bought, and walked her through how to set it off. She paid $150 for an inert handgun, a magazine and ammunition, and handed over a further $200 toward more devices.

Bowie weighed more than one location before settling on the Capitol. Investigators say she also discussed Albany City Hall but decided the State Capitol was the better target.

The attack was supposed to be the first of many

Bowie's plan did not end at the Capitol. FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig Tremaroli said she intended to leave the country after the bombing, escape to Syria, and eventually return to carry out more violence.

Those later ambitions included an attack on Times Square on New Year's Eve, according to Tremaroli. She also spoke of attacking the White House and the president.

Who Jessica Bowie is

Bowie converted to Islam about five years ago and began going by the name "Aisha Saif," court documents say. She formally pledged allegiance to the leader of ISIS in May, and swore that allegiance through multiple audio recordings in both English and Arabic.

Her online messages point to where her thinking went. On May 28, 2026, using the username "nusaybahsaif" on a social media platform, Bowie told another user in Arabic, "Praise be to Allah for September 11th," and, "When I can migrate, I will poison these infidels."

She described her own turn in stark terms. Bowie allegedly told the informants she went from a little girl waving an American flag after 9/11 to a woman who now kept stickers of the falling towers. When agents arrested her, they found knives and a handwritten pledge of allegiance to ISIS on her.

How the FBI ran the sting

Three FBI confidential sources, all posing as ISIS operatives, handled the contacts for roughly five weeks without Bowie knowing, according to the complaint. The operation ran from July 16 through August 19, with communications carried out over encrypted apps.

The informants gained her trust by offering help. On July 31, one asked Bowie if she wanted assistance from a "trusted brother from Dawlah," an alias for ISIS, and set up a meeting after she agreed. Everything she was given, from the fake device to the supplies list, was steered by agents.

The timing stood out to investigators. The plot was dismantled just weeks before the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

What she's charged with

Bowie faces one count of attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. The charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a lifetime of supervised release. The charge is an accusation, and Bowie is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

She was arrested Wednesday, August 19, right after she got out of the vehicle carrying the inert gun and device. She made her initial appearance the next afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart, who appointed the federal public defender's office and ordered her detained pending further proceedings. No plea has been entered; a defendant does not plead to a criminal complaint. The case was announced at a news conference in Albany that afternoon.

What officials said

First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III laid out the case alongside Tremaroli, Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Charles T. Perras of the Buffalo field office, and other law enforcement officials. Sarcone said the office hoped the arrest would deter others thinking about acts of violence.

Tremaroli described ISIS as "one of the most vicious organizations" intent on killing Americans and disrupting the country's way of life. His office in Albany handled the investigation through the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Gov. Kathy Hochul spoke the day the charge was announced. "Political violence has no place in our state, and I believe this suspect should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," she said at a news conference on Thursday, August 20.

Hochul's office also pointed to security work already underway. The state said it took steps earlier this year to strengthen protection across state government, including at the Capitol, in response to a rise 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," her office said.