What happened
U.S. District Judge David Nye sentenced Alexander Scott Mercurio to 18 years in prison followed by lifetime supervised release for plotting an attack on Christian churches in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
Mercurio pleaded guilty last month to attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. His defense team requested a nine-year sentence, arguing that he had abandoned radical Islam and was affected by a dysfunctional family.
According to court documents, Mercurio developed a plan to attack churches during Ramadan on a Sunday, which he described as Christians’ special day. Investigators obtained messages in which he described storming a church, killing as many people as possible, burning the building down, and repeating the process at additional churches.
Mercurio also discussed using a machete against congregants and setting churches on fire. In the days before the planned attack, he recorded a pledge of allegiance to ISIS.
The FBI arrested Mercurio on April 6, 2024, one day before the planned assault. Agents executing a search warrant at his home found butane canisters, lighters, handcuffs, a knife, and a machete. They also located firearms belonging to his father that Mercurio had intended to take.
Investigators first identified Mercurio while examining a cryptocurrency scheme intended to fund ISIS. They tied him to an anonymous social media account and found files glorifying mass killers, jihadi chants, and songs celebrating Islamic conquest.
