WASHINGTON, Aug 20 (Reuters) – U.S. \u2060authorities \u2060arrested and charged a \u2060New York woman with planning to carry out an \u200bIslamic State-inspired attack on the state’s capitol building in Albany, the Justice \u200cDepartment said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Jessica Bowie, \u200c35, of Albany, was charged with planning to deploy an \u2060explosive device \u2060at the state capitol with the intention of killing public \u200bofficials and destroying “as much of the building as possible” before fleeing to ISIS\u2011controlled territory in Syria, according to John A. Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for \u200bnational security.<\/p>\n
Bowie was apprehended on Wednesday after she gained possession of \u2060what \u2060she thought was an \u2060explosive device, \u200bthe DOJ said.<\/p>\n
The department said she was seen making visits to the \u200bstate’s Capitol grounds \u2060and taking photographs of the building.<\/p>\n
While describing the building as her target, according to the DOJ, Bowie said she wanted the attack to have an “affect on the American system.”<\/p>\n
The DOJ said Bowie has expressed \u2060anti-American messages online, including celebrating the September 11, 2001, attacks, in \u2060which al Qaeda militants hijacked commercial airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
A lawyer for Bowie could not be reached for immediate comment.<\/p>\n
Following Bowie’s arrest, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said the state had taken steps to strengthen security at the capitol and across government amid a rise in political violence \u2060and threats against public officials.<\/p>\n
“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 \u200bsafe,” she said in a statement.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Jasper Ward \u200bin Washington; editing by Scott Malone)<\/p>\n
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