Home Depot Detonator: Muslim Convert in Burka Bought Bomb Parts in Public, Planned to Kill as Many as Possible at State Capitol – DOJ
An Albany woman who allegedly went shopping at Home Depot for bomb parts has been arrested and charged with supporting the Islamic State.
Jessica Bowie, 35, of Albany, wanted to bomb the New York state Capitol while senators were meeting, according to Fox News.
Bowie used the Islamic name “Aisha Saif,” officials said since her conversion to Islam five years ago.
She has made social media posts that said, “Praise be to Allah for September 11th” and “When I can migrate, I will poison these infidels.”
“She didn’t just want to kill lawmakers. She wanted a complete disruption of our government,” Craig Tremaroli, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Albany field office, said.
Tremaroli said Bowie’s plans were to flee the country after bombing the state Capitol and return to conduct an attack on Times Square during New Year’s Eve.
Officials allege Bowie shopped for what she was told she needed to make a bomb at a Home Depot in Rensselaer. Images released by the Department of Justice showed her shopping wearing a burka.
American woman shops for bomb materials at Home Depot in ‘ISIS plot to blow up Capitol’ https://t.co/AZcp8xXlqG
— Metro (@MetroUK) August 20, 2026
Bowie also acquired DoorDash bags she thought could be used to disguise the bomb.
On Wednesday, she met with confidential sources and allegedly bought a gun for $150. She was arrested after leaving that meeting. Authorities said a handwritten pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State was found on her person.
“Blowing kafirs [non-Muslims] brains out is beautiful,” she said at one conversation with confidential sources, the complaint said, according to the New York Post.
Bowie told a confidential source she “went from a little girl waving an American flag after 9/11 to now having stickers of the falling towers.”
A “home-grown” wannabe terrorist, who 5 years ago converted to Islam, came up with a wacky plot to blow up the NY State House in Albany.
This was not a serious attempt, but demonstrates the appeal of radical Islam for unstable folk, disillusioned with America. pic.twitter.com/v9708vSvXH— Barry Jacobsen (@Barry4the44th) August 20, 2026
“Folks, let that sink in,” Tremaroli said at a news conference announcing Bowie’s arrest.
“The American people embody an enduring spirit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — values fundamentally opposed by foreign terrorist organizations like the one this defendant allegedly pledged her support to,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III for the Northern District of New York said in a Department of Justice news release.
“This arrest will send a strong message to anyone across the country who has been radicalized by our enemies. This administration has deployed the necessary resources for law enforcement to identify, investigate, and disrupt plots of terror well before harm can occur.”
The release said Bowie made multiple trips to the Capitol to scout the site.
She was quoted by the DOJ as saying, “I want to destroy as much of the building as possible and kill the senators while they are meeting. I want them to lose a lot of important documents as well” and “I want it to have a affect on the American system.”
Bowie could face a prison sentence of up to 20 years if convicted.
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