Man pleads not guilty to terrorism charge in alleged church attack plan in support of Islamic State
COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho. (AP) — An 18-year-old man accused of planning to attack churches in a northern Idaho city in support of the Islamic State group has pleaded not guilty to a federal terrorism charge. The Coeur d’Alene Press reports Alexander Mercurio on Wednesday in Idaho’s U.S. District Court pleaded not guilty to the charge of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State group. Prosecutors say he planned to use a metal pipe, butane fuel, a machete and, if he could get them, his father’s guns in the attack. Mercurio was arrested Saturday, the day before investigators believe he planned to carry out the attack.