COEUR D’ALENE, ID- After the FBI arrested Andrew Mercurio for allegedly plotting to carry out a terrorist attack in the name of ISIS at Coeur d’Alene churches, experts across the country are looking into the case.
“Most of what we think of as extremist movements these days, whether it’s jihadism, white power, etc. I mean, most of these movements have a global reach at this point,” Dr. Andy Vitek, the Director of Pennsylvania State University’s counter-terrorism program, said.
Vitek believes foreign groups like ISIS are becoming more attractive to American teens and young adults, like Mercurio, for many reasons. But a big reason is because the world has never been more connected.
“The fact of the matter is that technological innovations and instrumental usage of a lot of that tech by extremist movements, has kind of erased the idea of the kind of nationally bound terrorist and extremist groups,” Vitek said.
Court documents obtained by Mercurio describe a process of radicalization. Documents show that as a young teen, Mercurio became a white supremacist during the COVID-19 pandemic. He later converted to Islam and became an ISIS sympathizer.
In a study of youth radicalization, the National Institute of Health wrote, “Adolescence is a turbulent time for young people, which can generate psychological vulnerabilities that lead young people to be attracted to and recruited into different violent extremist ideologies and groups.”
Criminal Justice professor Dr. Alex Davis at Eastern Washington University echoed Dr. Vitek’s sentiment, adding that the rise of the internet increased foreign terrorists’ impact on domestic terrorists.
“I think the internet really influenced how people connect with each other and influence each other, both for positive ways, but also to spread terroristic ideals. That [the internet] can allow us to connect with people from across the world, in ways that we weren’t able to, you know, 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago,” Davis said.
The FBI did not release which church or churches were supposedly targeted by Mercurio.
NonStop Local reached out to numerous churches in Coeur d’Alene, including The Altar Church’s pastor, John Padula.
“So, I think we’re gonna see more and more of this unless we can stop all of the division and start working together as a community,” Padula said.
In a statement sent to NonStop Local, Sandra Bailey, the communications director for Candlelight Christian fellowship, stated, in part:
“Like many, we were stunned by the news that there was a terrorist plot to attack Christians in our community. We give thanks to the Lord for His blessing of protection. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the FBI and other law enforcement agencies who thwarted this planned attack,” Bailey said.
Meanwhile, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that the best way for parents to work to prevent the radicalization of children and teenagers is to pay attention, be involved in their lives and watch for any warning signs.
Davis also told NonStop Local that radicalization is becoming more common among teenagers like Mercurio.
If sentenced, he faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and life in supervised release.
