FBI arrests Idaho 18-year-old for ‘violent plot’ to attack churches on behalf of ISIS, Justice Department says

April 9, 2024 – “The FBI has arrested an 18-year-old in Idaho after uncovering his ‘truly horrific’ and ‘violent plot’ to attack churches in Coeur d’Alene this past weekend on behalf of ISIS, the Justice Department says. 

Alexander Mercurio is now facing a federal charge of attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization after the FBI says he devised a plan to ‘incapacitate his father, restrain him using handcuffs, and steal his firearms to use for maximum casualties’ in an attack he had been planning to carry out in the northern Idaho resort city on Sunday, April 7. 

‘The defendant allegedly pledged loyalty to ISIS and sought to attack people attending churches in Idaho, a truly horrific plan which was detected and thwarted by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force,’ FBI Director Christopher Wray said in a statement…

‘His attack plan involved using flame-covered weapons, explosives, knives, a machete, a pipe and ultimately firearms,’ the investigator added. ‘His plan grew more precise as he eventually identified the specific church and date on which he planned to attack.’…”

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