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The FBI says she plotted to bomb New York's Capitol. Her 'ISIS' contacts were the FBI.

FBI Complaint: Albany Woman Who Pledged to ISIS Plotted to Bomb New York’s Capitol and Kill Senators

by
M.A. Rothman

By M.A. RothmanSeptember 27, 2026 · 5 min read
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An Albany woman who pledged allegiance to ISIS is facing federal terrorism charges for an alleged plot to bomb the New York State Capitol and kill state senators while they met. Jessica Bowie, 35, was arrested by the FBI on August 19, 2026, moments after she walked away from a meeting carrying what she believed was a working bomb and a handgun, according to the federal criminal complaint filed the next day.

The bomb and the gun were inert. The men who handed them to her were FBI sources posing as ISIS operatives. But the complaint, sworn by an FBI agent in the Northern District of New York, lays out in Bowie’s own recorded words what she intended to do with them.

“Kill the senators while they are meeting”

According to prosecutors and the FBI, Bowie converted to Islam about five years ago, was radicalized online and went by the name “Aisha Saif.” She swore allegiance to ISIS in audio recordings in both English and Arabic, FBI Albany Special Agent in Charge Craig Tremaroli said. In July, she began talking with someone she believed was an ISIS member, who was actually an FBI source, and sent the source photos of the Capitol with the building circled in yellow.

On July 29, the source asked what kind of destruction she wanted. Her answer, as quoted in the complaint: “I want to destroy as much of the building as possible and kill the senators while they are meeting. I want them to lose alot of important documents as well.” She added that she wanted “a affect on the American system.”

She described a plan to carry the bomb in a bag that “looks like food delivery so when I place it I look like a food delivery person,” and to escape to Syria afterward. She identified the main entrance at Washington Avenue and Hawk Street as the likely spot to place it.

Between about July 21 and August 9, the complaint says, Bowie walked around the Capitol on approximately five separate occasions, photographed by surveillance teams and Capitol security cameras as she took pictures of her own. She sent the source dozens of images of the building.

“What good is that?”

On August 5, Bowie met in a car with two more FBI sources, one presented to her as a “brother” from ISIS. The meeting was recorded on audio and video. She told them she wanted to strike “on a day when the most amount of senators are there.” When the conversation turned to the size of the device, the complaint quotes her:

“But we definitely want to make sure the senators get killed for sure,” she said. When the source agreed, she added, “That’s, that’s the most important part.” And later: “I want something that’s gonna do the job I don’t want to take this kind of risk and then have it kill what, two or three people what good is that?”

She told the sources her ideal target would be “the White House with the President,” but that the Capitol was “the biggest political building that I know of around this area.” She said that if she escaped, she could “come back in the future and do more,” naming New Year’s Eve in Times Square. She also directed the sources past Albany City Hall and said the Capitol was the “better” target.

The sources told her a bomb would need nails, electrical tape, a 9-volt battery and acetone. Using $200 in pre-recorded government funds handed to her by one of the sources, Bowie spent about 28 minutes in a Home Depot in Rensselaer buying the components, including a large bin of nails. Back in the car, according to the complaint, she said, “I hope the nails are big enough . . . because the nails work as shrapnel, right?” The next day she handed over DoorDash delivery bags to hold the device.

The gun, the bomb and the arrest

On August 13, Bowie asked the first source for “a hand gun and bullets something powerful but easy enough to conceal so if the cops do get towards me during the operation I can shoot back.”

On August 19, she met the sources again and paid $150 for a firearm, a magazine and ammunition. She was shown an inert explosive device said to have been built from the parts she bought and taught how to detonate it. When offered the chance to donate to the purported bombmaker for future attacks, she handed over another $200. She told the sources she had learned the Capitol could hold as many as 200 people and hoped to take out at least half of them.

She left the car with the gun and the device and was arrested. Agents found knives and a handwritten pledge of allegiance on her. After waiving her rights, she told agents, according to the complaint, “Material support is up to 20 years in prison, I already Googled it before, I know I’m going to jail.”

The charge and the reaction

Bowie is charged with one count of attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and lifetime supervised release. She had no prior arrests. The charges are allegations, and she is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

“As alleged, Bowie plotted to deploy an explosive device at the New York State Capitol, intending to kill public officials,” said Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg. First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III described how she went “from a little girl waving the American flag after 9/11 to now having stickers of the fallen towers.” Matt Fodor of the FBI’s National Security Branch said, “The FBI detected and stopped an alleged plot to attack the New York State Capitol and kill elected officials.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul said there was no immediate threat. Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said she was “extremely grateful that law enforcement including the FBI and the State Police acted swiftly.” As City & State noted, the Legislature has been out of session since June, something Bowie did not appear to know.

The case is a reminder that the ISIS threat did not end with the fall of its so-called caliphate. It moved online, where, according to the complaint, it found a 35-year-old woman less than two miles from the seat of New York’s government. This time, the people she trusted were working for the FBI, and the investigation worked the way it should: agents recorded every step of the alleged plot, then made the arrest before anyone was hurt.

If the FBI’s account holds up in court, the only thing standing between New York’s Capitol and a nail bomb was that the ISIS operatives she trusted were working for the FBI.

Editor’s note: This article covers an arrest and federal charges from August 2026 that drew renewed attention in September 2026.

Sources

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