by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News August 20, 2026
A New York woman who converted to Islam and said she supported ISIS has been arrested in a plot to blow up the state capitol in Albany, federal officials said on Thursday.
Jessica Bowie, 35, whose residence is two miles away from the New York State Capitol, was charged with providing support to a terror group after allegedly plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on the capitol building in Albany, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.
Federal authorities say Bowie spent weeks surveilling the New York State Capitol and preparing an ISIS-inspired bombing aimed at killing state senators.
The FBI said Bowie pledged allegiance to ISIS, discussed disguising a bomb in a DoorDash delivery bag, and wanted to carry out the attack when state senators were meeting.
She converted to Islam about five years ago and began going by the name “Aisha Saif.” Authorities also said that on May 28 Bowie, using the username “nusaybahsaif” on a social media platform, told another user in Arabic: “Praise be to Allah for September 11th.”
Beginning in mid-July, Bowie told an FBI source posing as an ISIS facilitator that she wanted help making explosives and identified the state capitol as her target, saying she hoped to damage the building and kill lawmakers.
Bowie allegedly began scouting the building in Albany soon afterward.
Investigators said she walked around the building on roughly five separate occasions between July 21 and Aug. 9, taking photographs and studying the surrounding area and security.
In one exchange, she told the FBI source she would make a point of having picnics near the capitol and drinking coffee nearby so she could observe the building.
On Aug. 5, investigators say, Bowie went to a Home Depot in Rensselaer using $200 provided by one of the confidential sources and bought materials she believed would be used to build the bomb, including a large container of nails.
On Aug. 6, Bowie delivered DoorDash bags that she said could be used to conceal the device, according to the complaint.
On Aug. 19, Bowie met again with the confidential sources and paid $150 for what she believed was a handgun, magazine and ammunition, investigators say. She was also shown an explosive device purportedly made from the materials she had purchased. Both the firearm and explosive device were inert.
Bowie was arrested on Aug. 19 after leaving the meeting with the inert gun and device, according to the FBI. Agents said they found knives and a handwritten pledge of allegiance to ISIS on her.
Bowie is charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terror organization.
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