Hochul credits law enforcement, says no immediate threat remains

A federal criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York alleges Bowie converted to Islam five years ago and set up several social media accounts under an honorific Islamic name. Between May and July, the complaint says, the accounts she allegedly created sent messages expressing support for terrorism.

According to the complaint, Bowie communicated with a confidential FBI source posing as an ISIS facilitator between July 16 and August 17. She allegedly told the source she wanted to help attack the state capitol and to “harm the enemies of god,” and that if she escaped after an attack she planned to return for future ones.

A message quoted in the complaint has Bowie telling the informant: “I want to destroy as much of the building as possible and kill the senators while they are meeting.” The complaint alleges she told two other sources she wanted to attack on a day when the most senators would be present. Asked why she chose the state capitol, she allegedly said: “Ideally it would be the White House with the president, but like, that’s an even harder job.”

The complaint also details a discussion of potential civilian casualties. When the sources asked whether it would bother her if other people were killed, including Muslims, Bowie allegedly responded: “I’d say it definitely bothers me, and I know I’m going to hear about the things after - what’s going to bother me, especially if there’s a Muslim, if there’s children, pregnant women.” She said she hoped Allah would forgive her, according to the complaint.

Bowie allegedly bought materials to make a bomb at a hardware store on August 5 and plotted with the informants for the next two weeks. On Wednesday, the complaint alleges, the informants met with her and handed her an inert explosive device and a non-working handgun, along with instructions on how to detonate the device. The FBI arrested her shortly after.

In a post-arrest interview, 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.” She added: “Material support is up to 20 years in prison, I already Googled it before, I know I’m going to jail.”

Governor Kathy Hochul thanked the FBI and local police in a Thursday statement. “Earlier this year, amid a rise in political violence and threats against public officials, we took steps to strengthen security at the state capitol and across state government,” Hochul said. “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,” Hochul added.