Table of Contents
Nicholas Fondacaro
Nick grew up in East Stroudsburg Pennsylvania. He graduated from Binghamton University in 2013 with a degree in Political Science. While at Binghamton he served as the Speaker of the Student Assembly and wrote for the Binghamton Review, where his love for journalism started.
One would think the liberal broadcast networks would be eager to give President Biden a counterterrorism win during an election year, or at least praise the FBI for finally stopping an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack before it happened. But during Tuesday morning’s newscasts, CBS News and NBC News ignored the story of the FBI foiling a plot to target Christian parishioners in multiple Idaho churches last weekend.
Instead of talking about the Christians who were in the crosshairs of a radical Islamic terrorist, NBC’s Today freaked out about A.I.-generated images in advertisements. Meanwhile, CBS Mornings was lauding the removal of a dam to boost salmon numbers.
ABC’s Good Morning America was the only broadcast network to dedicate any time to the story; not only did they cover it, but they led their newscast with it. “First the arrest of an Idaho man on charges of plotting to carry out deadly attacks on churches in support of ISIS. The FBI director calls it a truly horrific plan,” co-anchor George Stephanopoulos announced at the top of the show.
While the attack wasn’t planned for the recent Easter services, chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas noted that the plot was planned around a Muslim holiday. “The suspect was arrested on Saturday just hours before the alleged planned assault on Sunday. Authorities say he had picked a specific church where he would start his attack, set for the end of Ramadan,” he reported.
Thomas showed a picture of the alleged terrorist, Alexander Mercurio posing with an ISIS flag. He was allegedly planning to attack “multiple churches in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.”
“The FBI says his plot involved a murderous rampage using knives and firearms to kill parishioners. He also planned to set their houses of worship on fire, going from church to church until he was killed by police. It’s a plan eerily similar to that ISIS assault on that concert hall in Moscow,” Thomas added.
In addition to the evidence of Mercurio buying the supplies to start the fires, there’s also a recording of him pledging his allegiance to ISIS.
The recent ISIS attack on the Moscow concert hall was apparently an event that got law enforcement officials in the U.S. nervous about other Islamic radicals with delusions of grandeur:
Mercurio’s arrest comes at a state of heightened alert by U.S. law enforcement. Authorities have been concerned about rage ignited by the Israel/Hamas War, and late last week they sent out an urgent bulletin warning that ISIS was trying to use their horrific attack on that Moscow concert to inspire radicals here to conduct U.S. attacks.
“In announcing this arrest last night, we received statements from both the attorney general and the FBI director, both expressing deep concern. Their statements a sign of just how serious this case is and just how dangerous the threat environment is right now,” Thomas concluded.
The transcript is below:
ABC’s Good Morning America
April 9, 2024
7:03:02 a.m. Eastern
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: First the arrest of an Idaho man on charges of plotting to carry out deadly attacks on churches in support of ISIS. The FBI director calls it a truly horrific plan.
Chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas has the latest. Good morning, Pierre.
PIERRE THOMAS: George, good morning. The suspect was arrested on Saturday just hours before the alleged planned assault on Sunday. Authorities say he had picked a specific church where he would start his attack, set for the end of Ramadan.
[Cuts to video]
This morning, the FBI claims this 18-year-old was on the verge of conducting a terror plot involving attacks on multiple churches in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Alexander Mercurio, seen here knife in hand, expressing his allegiance to ISIS.
The FBI says his plot involved a murderous rampage using knives and firearms to kill parishioners. He also planned to set their houses of worship on fire, going from church to church until he was killed by police. It’s a plan eerily similar to that ISIS assault on that concert hall in Moscow.
BRAD GARRETT (former FBI special agent): He talked about using knives, fire, and possibly weapons. And so the combination of all three if, in fact, he did launch that, had the possibility of harming a lot of people.
THOMAS: According to criminal charges unsealed last night, Mercurio had bought a number of items for his attacks including butane canisters for setting fires. And those charges say, on Saturday, Mercurio sent an audio file to an FBI confidential informant; 20-seconds long, it says in part: “I’m answering the call for the Islamic State for jihad…and to kill.”
The charges against Mercurio lay out a chilling plan where he would quote, “incapacitate his father, retrain him using handcuffs and steal his firearms to use for maximum casualties in his attack.” Sources tell ABC News his father had dozens of weapons including an AR-15 style assault rifle.
Mercurio’s arrest comes at a state of heightened alert by U.S. law enforcement. Authorities have been concerned about rage ignited by the Israel/Hamas War, and late last week they sent out an urgent bulletin warning that ISIS was trying to use their horrific attack on that Moscow concert to inspire radicals here to conduct U.S. attacks.
[Cuts back to live]
In announcing this arrest last night, we received statements from both the attorney general and the FBI director, both expressing deep concern. Their statements a sign of just how serious this case is and just how dangerous the threat environment is right now. Michael.
MICHAEL STRAHAN: We’re happy they were able to stop him though. Pierre, thank you very much for that.
