The 18-year-old, Alexander Scott Mercurio, pleaded not guilty to attempting to provide material support or resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. He was accused of planning attacks against churches in Idaho. The FBI arrested him the day before the planned attack was supposed to occur in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Mercurio allegedly intended to use flame-covered weapons, explosives, knives, a machete, a pipe, and ultimately firearms in the attack. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison if convicted and a jury trial is scheduled for May 28.
Mercurio had online and in-person meetings with a confidential source working with the FBI and expressed his support for terrorist organizations, specifically ISIS, during those interactions. He planned to carry out the attack on a church on April 7 in order for it to occur before the conclusion of Ramadan, according to FBI Task Force officer John Taylor’s affidavit. Mercurio brought butane canisters and a metal pipe to the planned attack and also intended to harm his father and acquire firearms for use in the attack. Days before the planned attack, he recorded a statement pledging his allegiance to ISIS.
During a search of his parents’ home, police found items consistent with his planned attack in a toolbox, including a metal pipe, handcuffs, folding saw, head coverings, two canisters of butane fuel, and a machete. Multiple rifles and handguns were also discovered in his father’s bedroom. Mercurio intended to incapacitate his father with a pipe, handcuff him, and use the firearms locked in the closet to attack the church. Investigators believed his alleged efforts to carry out the attack intensified following a March attack that killed 144 people at a concert hall complex near Moscow, which was tied to ISIS-K, an affiliate that operates in central Asia.
A pretrial conference for Mercurio’s case is set for May 14, and the jury trial is scheduled for May 28. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in federal prison. Mercurio’s attorney has not yet commented on the case. Investigators believe his alleged efforts to carry out the attack intensified following a March attack that killed 144 people at a concert hall complex near Moscow, which was tied to ISIS-K, an affiliate that operates in central Asia and has become one of the region’s most brutal and feared terror groups. CNN’s Rashard Rose and Melissa Alonso contributed to the reporting of this story.
