ISIS indoctrinating Americans with ‘ease,’ ex-NYPD detective warns
Federal investigators have taken Jessica Bowie, a woman from Albany, New York, into custody over allegations that she was preparing an ISIS-inspired bombing at the state Capitol. Former NYPD Detective Tom Smith appeared on “Fox & Friends” to break down the case, pointing to evidence authorities say includes hardware store purchases and an alleged plan to flee to Syria.
A newly obtained booking photograph is offering a first clear look at the Albany woman accused of swearing loyalty to ISIS and planning an attack on the New York State Capitol that prosecutors say she wanted to use to kill a large number of people, including state lawmakers.
Jessica Bowie, 35, is seen in a three-angle booking photo released from the Schenectady County Correctional Facility. The image differs sharply from surveillance pictures previously made public by federal authorities, which showed her wearing a burka while investigators were tracking her movements.
The release of the photo comes alongside an FBI affidavit that lays out what investigators describe as Bowie’s gradual shift from online activity to open support for ISIS, including allegations that she spent weeks surveilling the Capitol and moving closer to carrying out a potential attack.
Jessica Bowie, 35, was allegedly a convert to Islam who had pledged allegiance to ISIS. According to an FBI affidavit, investigators say she hoped to target and kill state legislators. (Schenectady County Sheriff’s Departments)
According to the affidavit, Bowie converted to Islam roughly five years ago and began using the name “Aisha Saif.”
In conversations with undercover agents, investigators say Bowie spoke about her religious conversion and described a dramatic change in worldview, saying she had gone from being “a little girl waving an American flag after 9/11” to possessing stickers showing the Twin Towers falling.
Authorities also allege that Bowie operated more than a dozen social media accounts, many of which were suspended again and again for violating platform policies.
By May, accounts linked to Bowie were sending messages that the FBI characterized as “support for terrorism.”
“Praise be to Allah for September 11th,” Bowie allegedly wrote to another user in Arabic on May 28.
In another message that month, she allegedly wrote: “When I can migrate, I will poison these infidels.”
The FBI says Bowie also repeatedly pledged “bayah,” or allegiance, to ISIS and sent audio recordings of herself making the pledge to people she communicated with online.
Albany, N.Y.: Photo of the New York State Capital Building in Albany, New York on February 25, 2024. (Photo by Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
By July, according to investigators, her rhetoric had turned into a plot to attack the New York State Capitol building in Albany.
An FBI confidential source posing as an ISIS facilitator began communicating with Bowie through an encrypted messaging app on July 16. Bowie allegedly told the source she wanted help making explosives and identified the New York State Capitol as her target.
“I would like to target [the] state capitol,” she allegedly wrote.
Bowie told the source she wanted to benefit ISIS and “harm the enemies of god,” the affidavit says.
Investigators said Bowie soon began repeatedly scouting the Capitol.
Between about July 21 and Aug. 9, she walked around the building on roughly five separate occasions, taking photographs of the Capitol and surrounding area while studying its security, according to the FBI.
On one visit, she allegedly sent dozens of images to the confidential source and said she planned to have picnics nearby and drink coffee in the observation hall so she could learn more about the building.
According to the Justice Department, Jessica Bowie surveilled the New York State Capitol as part of her alleged plot to bomb the building. (Department of Justice)
By July 29, Bowie allegedly told the undercover source what she wanted the attack to accomplish.
“I want to destroy as much of the building as possible and kill the senators while they are meeting,” she told the source, according to the affidavit. “I want it to have a [sic] affect on the American system.”
That same day, investigators say Bowie discussed concealing the explosive in a bag that would make her appear to be a food-delivery worker.
“Blowing kafirs brains out is beautiful,” she allegedly told the source while discussing her desire to escape to Syria after the bombing.
The alleged plot grew more detailed during an Aug. 5 meeting with two additional FBI confidential sources whom Bowie believed were connected to ISIS.
Bowie said she ideally wanted to strike when the greatest number of senators were inside and use an explosive powerful enough to kill them and destroy as much of the Capitol as possible, according to the affidavit.
When one of the sources discussed the size of the device that would be required, Bowie allegedly made clear that a small death toll would not satisfy her.
“I want something that’s gonna do the job,” she said, according to the affidavit. “I don’t want to take this kind of risk and then have it kill what, two or three people what good is that?”
Killing the senators, she allegedly said, was “the most important part.”
Bowie also spoke about potential future targets.
“Ideally, it would be the White House with the President,” she allegedly said, before calling it a more difficult target and describing the Capitol as the biggest political building she could readily reach.
She separately discussed returning to the United States after fleeing and carrying out additional violence, including around New Year’s Eve in Times Square, according to the affidavit.
According to the Justice Department, the supplies in Jessica Bowie’s cart were allegedly purchased as part of her plan to build a bomb for the Capitol attack. (Department of Justice)
On Aug. 5, Bowie allegedly used $200, supplied by one of the FBI sources, to purchase materials at a Home Depot in Rensselaer, New York, that she believed would be used to construct the explosive device.
The FBI says she spent about 28 minutes inside the store and emerged with materials that included a large container of nails.
“I hope the nails are big enough … because the nails work as shrapnel, right?” she allegedly asked after returning to the vehicle.
A photo released by the Department of Justice allegedly captured the suspect checking out at the Home Depot store.
Bowie also told investigators she had a DoorDash bag that could conceal the finished device and delivered the bags to confidential sources the following day, according to the complaint.
She later referred to the planned attack as an “operation give taghut the boot,” according to the affidavit.
Jessica Bowie, 35, appeared in federal court Thursday, Aug. 20, where she was formally informed of the felony material support for terrorism charge filed against her by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York. (Schenectady County Sheriff’s Departments)
By Aug. 13, Bowie was allegedly seeking a handgun she could conceal beneath her clothing and use to shoot at police if officers approached her during the attack.
Six days later, she met again with the confidential sources and paid $150 for what she believed was a handgun, magazine and ammunition. The gun was inert. She was also shown an inert explosive device that she was told had been assembled using the materials she bought at Home Depot.
During that final meeting, Bowie allegedly said she had learned the Capitol could contain as many as 200 people and hoped to kill at least half of them.
She also said that if her roommate discovered the device, she would have to kill the roommate quietly by cutting her, according to the FBI.
The FBI arrested Bowie after she left the Aug. 19 meeting carrying the inert firearm and purported explosive device. Agents said they found knives and a handwritten pledge of allegiance to ISIS on her.
New York State Police told News Outlet that it could not locate any state police reports involving Bowie, while referring questions about the current investigation and the Aug. 19 operation to the FBI.
Bowie is charged with attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
News Outlet has reached out to the FBI Albany Field Office, and Bowie’s public defender for comment.
