FBI agents allegedly told an Oklahoma woman that the agency spends "every day, all day long" questioning people about their social media posts when they arrived at her house to ask about posts she made online.
In a criminal complaint, the FBI says the investigation began when Mercurio, who is a resident of Coeur d’Alene, "reached out to confidential human sources online and indicated his support for ISIS and terrorist organizations, more generally."
"Mercurio spread ISIS propaganda online and solicited ISIS’s involvement in and approval of his propaganda efforts, discussed traveling from the United States to join ISIS, [and] considered and planned ways to support ISIS financially," an FBI investigator wrote in the complaint.
FBI arrests Idaho 18-year-old for 'violent plot' to attack churches on behalf of ISIS, Justice Department says
Alexander Mercurio was planning to carry out attack in Coeur d’Alene on Sunday, according to the FBI