A 35-year-old Albany woman has been charged with providing material support to ISIS after federal authorities said an FBI sting operation stopped her from carrying out a planned bombing at the New York State Capitol.

Jessica Bowie made her initial court appearance Thursday on one count of attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization, a charge that carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and lifetime supervised release. She was arrested Wednesday by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in Albany.

How the FBI Says the Plot Unfolded

According to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, Bowie converted to Islam roughly five years ago and formally swore allegiance to ISIS in audio recordings made in both English and Arabic. Investigators say they identified Bowie after finding online accounts linked to her that expressed support for terrorism, and began monitoring her communications starting in May.

From July 16 through Aug. 17, Bowie allegedly communicated with a confidential FBI source posing as an ISIS facilitator, telling the source she wanted to target her state capitol, which she noted was "less than two miles" from her home. The complaint states she visited the Capitol grounds approximately five separate times between July 21 and Aug. 17, photographing the building from multiple vantage points, including from a nearby observation hall, as she planned where an attack might be most effective.

In describing her intentions, Bowie allegedly told investigators, "I want to destroy as much of the building as possible and kill the senators while they are meeting. I want them to lose a lot of important documents as well." She also said, according to the complaint, "I want it to have a[n] affect on the American system. And destroy some of the taghut."

On Wednesday, FBI operatives arranged to meet Bowie and provided her with what she believed to be a functional weapon and explosive device, though the items were rendered inert. Agents arrested her as she left that meeting.

Bowie's Alleged Online Statements

The complaint also cites several online posts investigators attributed to Bowie, including messages reading, "Praise be to Allah for September 11th," and "When I can migrate, I will poison these infidels."

Following her arrest, Bowie allegedly told agents, "There's no helping me, you guys know enough, there's no helping me, I'm going to prison for the rest of my life," adding, "Material support is up to 20 years in prison, I already Googled it before, I know I'm going to jail."

Officials React to the Case

FBI National Security Branch Operations Director Matt Fodor said in a statement, "The FBI detected and stopped an alleged plot to attack the New York State Capitol and kill elected officials." He added, "This case is yet another example of how this FBI is built to not only identify threats of terrorism quickly, but to stop their alleged plots before they are able to harm the American people."

Craig Tremaroli, special agent in charge of the FBI's Albany Field Office, told reporters at a news conference, "Make no mistake about it, Ms. Bowie's alleged plot was serious, it was dangerous and thanks to the partnerships of the FBI's joint terrorism task force, it was foiled."

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul addressed the arrest in a statement, saying she was "grateful" to the FBI and its law enforcement partners, adding, "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."

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