Idaho man pleads guilty to providing material support to ISIS

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (ABC4) — A 20-year-old man has pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Alexander Scott Mercurio from Coeur d’Alene pleaded guilty in the Federal District Court of Idaho today after attempting to support ISIS and planning attacks in Coeur d’Alene.

He was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Salt Lake City Division on April 6, 2024, and he reportedly had multiple attacks planned for April 7, intending to attack local churches on behalf of ISIS.

Mercurio is scheduled for sentencing on January 27, 2026. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison for his crime, according to United States Code § 2339B.

Mercurio’s Online Presence

The FBI first became aware of Alexander Mercurio in 2021. At the time, the FBI was investigating a fundraising network that uses cryptocurrency and other financial services to support designated foreign terrorist organizations like ISIS.

They determined that multiple individuals were collecting and providing funds for ISIS while communicating on encrypted social media and mobile messaging electronic communication services.

One of the individuals suddenly deleted their accounts, and the FBI stated that they are believed to have died around July 2022.

Shortly after that individual’s possible death, a confidential human source (CHS) with the FBI assumed the same display name and posed as that individual. Then, an account messaged the CHS and said, “When I woke up, it displayed your account as deleted, so I was worried. But it appears to have just been a glitch.”

Investigators found the IP address that was linked to accounts with the same username as the individual messaging the CHS and tracked the IP addresses to service provider accounts registered to Alexandro Mercurio’s father.

Mercurio lived with his father and also was an online student using a laptop. In March of 2023, the FBI obtained copies of files on Mercurio’s school-issued electronic devices.

According to court documents, Mercurio regularly glorified the “violent murder of non-believers” and “heroism of the Islamic State fighters in the battlefields against the enemies” which are common radical beliefs of ISIS.

Additionally, there was a photo of Mercurio wearing a black balaclava and using a gesture common among ISIS supporters, as well as several documents concerning politics and some showing direct support to ISIS or radical ideology.

Mercurio also communicated online with and in support of known ISIS supporters, created and distributed propaganda, and pledged allegiance to ISIS.

In February of 2024, a second CHS met with Mercurio in-person, who told them that he “previously drank the Kool-aid of white supremacy,” before turning to Islam. In future conversations, Mercurio alluded to radical Islamic beliefs and discussed martyrdom.

He also mentioned wanting to travel to become an ISIS soldier, and in a text message to a CHS, stated, “I don’t have the desire to do anything except Jihad…a craving for mayhem and terror.”

Mercurio’s Attack Planning

Between March 25 and 26, 2024, Mercurio messaged a CHS multiple times and discussed specific plans to attack local churches in Coeur d’Alene.

According to court documents, one of the messages read that his plan was to, “stop close by the church, equip the weapon(s) and storm the temple, kill as many as possible before they [inevitably] [disperse]/scatter, then burn the temple to the ground and flee the scene, then move onto the next church, rinse and repeat for all 21+ churches in the town until killed.”

The CHS asked clarifying questions to Mercurio, who discussed more specifics about his plans. A second CHS met with Mercurio and recorded the conversation. In both conversations, Mercurio discussed clear intent and plans to cause a mass casualty event.

On April 1, 2025, Mercurio messaged an undercover FBI agent and stated that “this Sunday, I am going to be carrying out a martyrdom operation.” He also discussed sending out a video detailing his beliefs shortly before the operation and sending all his money to ISIS.

Leading up to the intended attack, Mercurio spoke to several undercover operatives and Confidential Human sources and discussed plans to incapacitate or even kill his father, steal firearms, and carry out a terror attack on local churches.

On April 6, 2024, around 12:45 p.m., the FBI issued a search warrant for Mercurio’s residence and person. They seized multiple firearms and tools that corresponded to what Mercurio stated he would use in carrying out an attack.

The FBI also arrested Mercurio and charged him with proving material support or resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations, based on the physical and online evidence.