A US woman has been charged over an alleged ISIS-inspired plan to bomb the New York State Capitol, kill lawmakers and then leave the United States to join the terrorist organisation.
Federal prosecutors in New York allege Samantha Bowie pledged allegiance to Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS or ISIL) and had been preparing an attack against the Capitol building in Albany.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, Bowie posted extremist material online, including messages praising the September 11 attacks. Investigators claim she expressed an intention to cause maximum destruction inside the Capitol and kill senators while they were assembled.
Authorities allege Bowie visited the Capitol several times and photographed the building as part of her preparations.
She was arrested on Wednesday after allegedly obtaining what she believed was an explosive device.
The Department of Justice and FBI subsequently released images said to show Bowie purchasing materials that could be used to construct a bomb. In the photographs, the suspect is dressed in black clothing with her face concealed.
First Assistant US Attorney John Sarcone III said the arrest should serve as a warning to people in the United States who had been radicalised by foreign terrorist organisations.
The case follows several other alleged ISIS-linked plots uncovered in the US in recent months.
In April, two men were arrested after allegedly throwing explosive devices at demonstrators outside Gracie Mansion, the official residence of New York City’s mayor. Police said the suspects supported ISIS and that investigators later discovered bomb-making materials and instructions in a storage unit connected to them.
Several men in Michigan were also charged last November over an alleged ISIS-inspired plan to carry out armed attacks using rifles and shotguns.
Praised the September 11 attacks
What did she mean?
That there were no planes