A 21-year-old Coeur d'Alene man was sentenced Tuesday to 18 years in federal prison for planning and gathering the weapons for a mass shooting at a local church in the name of ISIS.
Alexander S. Mercurio, 21, of Coeur d'Alene, received the sentence in a hearing before U.S. District Court Judge David C. Nye for attempting to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization.
The case was investigated out of the Salt Lake City division of the FBI.
"Alexander Scott Mercurio planned to attack that fundamental freedom by bringing death and destruction to several churches," said M. Scott Proctor, deputy assistant attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice's National Security Division. "This sentence shows that the Department of Justice will relentlessly investigate, pursue, and prosecute those who would terrorize and murder Americans for exercising their religious rights."
According to court records, Mercurio pledged his allegiance to ISIS and intended to carry out an attack in Coeur d'Alene on its behalf.
In early 2023, he created an online site for pro-ISIS content with the purpose of spreading the doctrine of the Islamic State.
Although Mercurio sought to travel overseas to support ISIS, he lacked resources. He then made plans to carry out an attack within the United States, according to a news release.
Mercurio planned to incapacitate his father with a metal pipe and take his firearms to use in a mass shooting at a church in the name of ISIS.
His plan involved using explosives, knives, a machete, a pipe and firearms, according to the release.
When federal investigators learned of his plan, they searched his house and found that Mercurio had butane canisters, lighters, a pair of handcuffs, a knife and a machete, along with several firearms belonging to his father.
Mercurio had planned to target churches in Coeur d'Alene on April 7, 2024, using these various weapons.
Days before the planned attack, Mercurio stood before an ISIS flag holding a knife and pledged his allegiance to that group. The FBI arrested him on April 6, 2024, the day before his planned attack.
U.S. Attorney for Idaho John Shirts thanked federal investigators for their work and for the assistance received from the Coeur d'Alene Police Department and Kootenai County Sheriff's Office.
"The sentencing of Mercurio today sends the clear message that where individuals intend to pursue acts of terrorism against the United States — whether in Coeur d'Alene, or any other community — they will be brought to justice," Shirts said in the release. "Protecting our communities from terrorist activity is always the number one priority of this office and the Department of Justice."
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather S. Patricco and David G. Robins, who work in Idaho, prosecuted the case with help from the DOJ's National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section.
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