Alexander Mercurio: Idaho teen who pledged allegiance to ISIS arrested for planning to attack churches

COEUR D'ALENE, IDAHO: The FBI arrested an 18-year-old on Saturday, April 6, 2024, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, for planning to attack churches in his town and trying to supply material and resources to ISIS after pledging allegiance to the terrorist organization, the Department of Justice said in a press release.

Alexander Scott Mercurio, 18, has not entered a plea and is still being held, according to court documents.

On April 7, investigators claimed Mercurio was going to attack at least one church in his area with firearms, knives, and combustible chemicals. However, they claimed to have stopped him before he could complete his plan, according to CBS News.

Alexander Mercurio planned to kill 'as many people as possible'

According to the allegations made against him, Mercurio wrote to an unidentified FBI source, stating that he was scheduled to "stop close by the church, equip the weapon(s), and storm the temple, killing as many people as possible."

Investigators have determined that his objective was to carry out martyrdom before the end of Ramadan, which is a holy month that Muslims observe peacefully around the world and which emphasizes prayer and fasting.

He also wanted to swear his allegiance to the leader of ISIS by doing so.

"I am going to perform a martyrdom operation very soon," he allegedly wrote in one recent message, before adding, "The targets will be the various churches in my town."

Prosecutors detailed a shift in the teen's beliefs starting in 2022 when messages and posts purportedly showed his interest in ISIS and his parents' apparent disapproval of his religious convictions.

These details were included in recently made public court documents. He shared pro-ISIS content online and kept media on his electronics, including a jihadi chant, according to investigators.

According to court records, Mercurio also allegedly disclosed to participants in a group chat linked to terrorism that he had previously corresponded with a person who was subsequently detained for giving financial support to the terrorist organization.

He reaffirmed his desire to die a martyr during several meetings he had earlier this year with a confidential FBI source.

Alexander Mercurio planned to use metal pipe to attack his father and take his guns

Mercurio allegedly disclosed in meetings and over the internet that he intended to "donate every last cent in my bank to the State (ISIS)" and planned to record a video message endorsing ISIS before carrying out his attack.

Investigators claimed that he had recently stated, "I really want to (carry out) an operation." He had previously told the FBI's confidential source that he wanted to "fix" what he perceived to be an excessive number of churches in his neighborhood.

Prosecutors said that he planned to use a metal pipe to attack his father, then take his guns and use them for the attack.

As per the charging documents, Mercurio allegedly pledged his loyalty to the leader of ISIS on April 3 by holding a knife and posing for a picture in front of a flag used by the terrorist group.

Mercurio was taken into custody before he could act

According to court documents, prosecutors claim that Mercurio said he wasn't going to postpone his plans when asked by the FBI's confidential source on Friday, April 5.

On Saturday, April 6, one day before the attack, the FBI obtained a search warrant and took Mercurio into custody from his family home.

Investigators found several firearms, a machete, butane, hand sanitizer, and a metal pipe inside his father's closet.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Mercruio's arrest on Monday, April 8.

"The defendant swore an oath of loyalty to ISIS and planned to wage an attack in its name on churches in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho," the statement read. "Thanks to the investigative efforts of the FBI, the defendant was taken into custody before he could act."

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, among other federal law enforcement agencies, alerted law enforcement officials nationwide to "possible threats to public gatherings in the United States from threat actors" a few days before the charges.

The alert was prompted by the deadly terror attack that occurred in March at a Russian concert hall. Over a hundred people were killed in the massacre, which ISIS reportedly took responsibility for.