What happened
Alexander Scott Mercurio, a 21-year-old Idaho man, was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State group. U.S. District Judge David C. Nye handed down the sentence on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2026, and ordered lifetime supervised release after Mercurio completes his prison term.
Prosecutors said Mercurio pledged allegiance to IS and planned to attack churches in Coeur d’Alene using explosives, knives, firearms, and other weapons. He was arrested by the FBI on April 6, 2024, one day before the planned attack.
According to court records, Mercurio created an online repository of pro-IS content and initially wanted to travel overseas to support the organization but lacked the money and resources. Shortly before his arrest, he gave an FBI informant an audio recording pledging support for IS and a photo of himself holding a knife in front of an IS flag.
Mercurio’s defense attorneys described him as a depressed teenager raised in a dysfunctional family exposed to white supremacist ideology at a young age. They said he became isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic and was befriended online by a government informant. His attorneys stated that Mercurio has since renounced extremist views and has been assessed as a low risk of future danger. They asked for a nine-year sentence, but the judge imposed 18 years.
Idaho U.S. Attorney John Shirts said the sentence sends a clear message that individuals who intend to pursue acts of terrorism against the United States will be brought to justice.
