Jessica Bowie, 35, of upstate New York, has been hit with terrorism-related charges after investigators said she converted to Islam, pledged loyalty to the Islamic State group and began planning an attack on the State Capitol building — a case unfolding just weeks before the United States observes the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Federal authorities said Bowie became Muslim about five years ago and adopted the name Aisha Saif.
The FBI took Bowie into custody after she allegedly tried to bring a team of confidential informants into the plot, believing they were ISIS contacts. Prosecutors said she thought they would help turn bomb-making materials she had bought into an explosive device and also supply her with a handgun.
Court filings also allege that Bowie expressed admiration for the terrorists responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, which killed 2,977 people.
The federal criminal complaint offers limited information about her path toward alleged extremism before May 2026, though investigators said they believe she became radicalized online.
According to the complaint, Bowie had already been removed from several social media platforms for violating user policies with her posts. In separate May posts, she allegedly wrote about poisoning “infidels” and declared, “praise be to Allah for September 11th.” By the end of that month, authorities said, she had pledged allegiance to ISIS.
“The key with these sorts of cases is the initial lead,” said Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector, Fox News contributor and veteran of counterterrorism work. “This can come in a number of ways. We criticize social media plenty, but the fact that she was repeatedly banned on these platforms could have been a crucial pointer.”
By July, the complaint said, Bowie was allegedly turning to encrypted messaging apps to share pro-terrorism material tied to radical Islamist extremism and to post anti-American statements.
On July 16, she allegedly told an FBI informant that she had begun thinking about “Jehad” more seriously over the past several months. She was also allegedly posting online about how she was sharing ISIS propaganda and attempting to recruit.
In July and August, Bowie allegedly made five visits to scout the State Capitol.
On Aug. 5, photos released by the Justice Department allegedly show her buying bomb-making materials at a Rensselaer Home Depot store, including a large bucket of nails that was allegedly meant for shrapnel. “We definitely want to make sure the senators get killed for sure,” she allegedly told an informant.
New York State Capitol Building. (Photo by: John Greim/Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (John Greim/Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
On Aug. 13, she allegedly asked an FBI informant whom she thought was an ISIS operative for help obtaining a handgun, according to the complaint.
On Aug. 19, the FBI arrested her after she allegedly gave $350 to a pair of FBI informants and got out of their vehicle carrying an inert handgun and dummy explosive that they’d given her, according to the complaint.
“There’s no helping me,” she allegedly told the FBI after being read her Miranda rights. “You guys know enough…I’m going to prison for the rest of my life.”
She added that she’d already looked up potential sentences online.
“Material support is up to 20 years in prison,” she said, according to the complaint. “I already googled it before. I know I’m going to jail.”
Earlier that day, she allegedly told an FBI informant that she had grown from “a little girl waving an American flag after 9/11 to now having stickers of the falling towers.” She was 10 years old on Sept. 11, 2001.
Bowie, who also has addresses listed in Schenectady, allegedly planned to hide a bomb in a DoorDash delivery bag at the New York State Capitol, according to the complaint.
“I want to destroy as much of the building as possible and kill the senators while they are meeting,” she allegedly told an informant. “I want them to lose a lot of important documents as well”
Then she allegedly wanted to escape to Syria before returning to the U.S. in the future for more attacks.
A woman who picked up a call to the number listed for Bowie’s mother hung up when contacted by News Outlet Friday.
