An Idaho man pleaded guilty Wednesday to attempting to provide support and resources to the ISIS terrorist group, prosecutors announced.
Alexander Scott Mercurio, 20, of Coeur d’Alene, was arrested in April 2024, one day before authorities say he planned to carry out an ISIS-inspired suicide attack on local churches using flamethrowers, explosives, knives, a machete, a pipe, and guns.
“Days before the planned attack, Mercurio stood before an ISIS flag holding a knife and pledged his allegiance to ISIS,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Idaho stated Wednesday.
According to court records, Mercurio purchased butane canisters and a metal pipe for his planned attack….