Woman charged with planning ISIS-inspired attack on New York State Capitol building

By Jasper Ward

WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (Reuters) – U.S. authorities arrested and charged a New York woman with planning to carry out an Islamic State-inspired attack on the state’s capitol building in Albany, the Justice Department said on Thursday.

Jessica Bowie, 35, of Albany, was charged with planning to deploy an explosive device at the state capitol with the intention of killing public officials and destroying “as much of the building as possible” before fleeing to ISIS‑controlled territory in Syria, according to John A. Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security.

Bowie was apprehended on Wednesday after she gained possession of what she thought was an explosive device, the DOJ said.

The department said she was seen making visits to the state’s Capitol grounds and taking photographs of the building.

While describing the building as her target, according to the DOJ, Bowie said she wanted the attack to have an “affect on the American system.”

The DOJ said Bowie has expressed anti-American messages online, including celebrating the September 11, 2001, attacks, in which al Qaeda militants hijacked commercial airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

A lawyer for Bowie could not be reached for immediate comment.

Following Bowie’s arrest, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the state had taken steps to strengthen security at the capitol and across government amid 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,” she said in a statement.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; editing by Scott Malone)