An Idaho man, Alexander Scott Mercurio, is sentenced to 18 years in prison for an ISIS-linked plan to attack churches in his city. All three outlets say he was arrested before the plot could be carried out.
According to reports, Mercurio planned to steal guns and harm or incapacitate his father, then carry out attacks at multiple churches, with at least one account describing a handmade bomb vest. One outlet adds he told an FBI informant he wanted to carry out attacks repeatedly across churches in the town.
The coverage largely focuses on the length of the sentence and the purported ISIS motivation and targeting of churchgoers. While the outlets agree on the core outline—planned multi-church attacks, pre-emptive arrest, and an 18-year term—the level of operational detail and wording about his statements to authorities varies across reports.
