PARIS (VINnews) – French counterterrorism investigators have arrested and charged three men accused of planning a violent attack against the Jewish community and preparing to travel to Africa to join ISIS — and one of the suspects was in contact with a New York woman accused of plotting an ISIS-inspired attack on the New York State Capitol.
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The three men, ages 18 to 26, were arrested Tuesday, Sept. 1, in Essonne and Indre-et-Loire following an investigation by France’s domestic intelligence service, the DGSI, RTL reported. The investigation was opened July 3 by France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office into jihadist activity involving members of a WhatsApp group called “Soldiers of Allah.”
According to RTL, investigators suspect the men were planning both to travel to Africa to join the Islamic State and to carry out a violent attack targeting France’s Jewish community.
One of the suspects, a 20-year-old man, was also in contact with Jessica Bowie, a 35-year-old Albany woman arrested by the FBI in August in connection with an alleged ISIS-inspired plot targeting the New York State Capitol in Albany, RTL reported.
Bowie was arrested Aug. 19 after investigators said she obtained what she believed was an explosive device. Federal prosecutors allege that she planned to attack the Capitol, kill New York state senators while they were meeting and then flee to Syria to join ISIS.
According to the FBI investigation, Bowie had conducted reconnaissance at the Capitol and photographed the building. Prosecutors also allege that she had pledged allegiance to ISIS and communicated with an FBI confidential source posing as an ISIS facilitator about her plans.
RTL reported that French investigators are examining the contact between Bowie and the 20-year-old French suspect as part of their broader investigation. The nature and significance of that contact have not been publicly established.
The French suspects were brought before an investigating judge after the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office opened a formal judicial investigation Friday, Sept. 4, into allegations of terrorist criminal conspiracy with the aim of preparing one or more crimes against people.
On Saturday, Sept. 5, the three men were formally charged and ordered held in pretrial detention, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The case began with investigators monitoring the “Soldiers of Allah” WhatsApp group and alleged jihadist activity among its members. French authorities are continuing to investigate the suspects’ alleged plans, their potential links to ISIS and the extent of any planned attack.
France is home to Europe’s largest Jewish community and has maintained heightened security around Jewish institutions amid continuing concerns over terrorism and antisemitic violence.
The developments also highlight an emerging international dimension to the investigation involving Bowie, whose alleged plot in Albany was disrupted before authorities say she could carry it out. The U.S. Justice Department has emphasized that the allegations against Bowie are accusations and that she is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.