Arrest made in threat to State Capitol

Albany, N.Y. (WBEN) - An arrest has been made in a threat to the New York State Capitol. Gov. Kathy Hochul says there is no immediate threat to Albany.

The FBI alleged in a criminal complaint Thursday that Jessica Bowie, 35, pledged allegiance to ISIS in online communications and began planning the attack in July. The suspect converted to Islam about five years ago and, in messages with unidentified users, pledged support to ISIS, the criminal complaint said.

Bowie had allegedly discussed her plans with FBI informants and spent weeks doing surveillance of the Capitol, including taking pictures from various vantage points, including an "observation hall nearby," the criminal complaint said. She allegedly bought bomb materials from a hardware store on Aug. 5, and plotted with the informants for the next two weeks, according to the complaint.

The informants allegedly met with Bowie on Wednesday, and provided her with an inert explosive device and an inert handgun along with instructions on how to detonate the explosive. Upon being interviewed by FBI agents, she allegedly said, "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," 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."

Gov. Hochul issued the following statement on Thursday:

“Today, the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI announced the arrest of an individual who allegedly plotted an attack on the New York State Capitol. I’m grateful to the FBI for leading this investigation and to the New York State Police for their work to apprehend this dangerous individual.

“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.

“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.”