Albany Woman Arrested for Allegedly Plotting Capitol Bombing

A monthslong undercover investigation by the FBI ended in the arrest of Jessica Bowie, an Albany woman accused of plotting to bomb the New York State Capitol and kill lawmakers.

The operation began over a month ago when Bowie messaged an undercover agent posing as an ISIS facilitator, expressing her desire to build an explosive device and target the Capitol, which is less than two miles from her home.

Bowie was scoping out the area by July 21, with cameras capturing her coming around the Capitol at least five times to take pictures and study security. She told the undercover agent she planned to have picnics and drink coffee near the Capitol to better observe security.

By late July into early August, Bowie's plan became more specific, with her wanting to destroy as much of the Capitol as possible and kill as many senators as possible. On Aug. 5, two more undercover agents began communicating with her, providing her with $200 to spend on materials to build an explosive.

Bowie then went to a Home Depot in Rensselaer, where she spent nearly 30 minutes buying materials, including a large bin of nails, to make an explosive device. She planned to place the explosive in a DoorDash food delivery bag and then escape to Syria, investigators said.