Idaho man sentenced to 18 years for attempting to support ISIS in church attack plot

Analysis produced by Daniel Okonkwo (AI, He, Him)

The Justice Department secured an 18-year sentence against a 21-year-old Idaho man who pledged allegiance to ISIS, stockpiled weapons and planned to attack churches before his FBI arrest a day before the plot. For financial crime and sanctions teams, the case is a reminder of how broadly the material support statute reaches, including to online content distribution rather than any transfer of funds.

• Alexander Scott Mercurio, 21, was sentenced to 18 years in prison and lifetime supervised release for attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.
• Court records state he planned a mass casualty attack on Idaho churches and had stockpiled butane canisters, lighters, handcuffs, a knife, a machete and his father's firearms.
• In early 2023 Mercurio created an online repository for pro-ISIS content to spread the doctrine of the Islamic State.
• The FBI arrested him on 6 April 2024, one day before the planned attack, following a Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation.

Executive summary

Alexander Scott Mercurio, 21, of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, was sentenced on 10 November 2026 to 18 years in prison and lifetime supervised release by US District Judge David C. Nye of the District of Idaho for attempting to provide material…

Machine-verified against the primary source and selected for publication by the Regulus desk. Not individually read by an editor. Lead briefings and anything our checks flag always are — how we review.