Dec. 11 (UPI) — An Ohio woman who idolized and corresponded with Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof was arrested on domestic terrorism charges, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday.
Elizabeth Lecron, 23, was charged with one count of transportation of explosives and explosive material for the purposes of harming others and property for purchasing black powder and screws she believed would be used to make a bomb as part of a terrorist attack, the Justice Department said.
“Removing Elizabeth Lecron from the ranks of civilized society by virtue of arrest and prosecution thwarts her explicitly stated desire to engage in acts of death and destruction,” FBI acting special agent in charge Jeff Fortunato said.
She first came to the attention of law enforcement earlier this year when one of her associates expressed a desire to conduct a violent attack, the Justice Department said.
Lecron frequently posted photographs and comments on social media glorifying mass murderers, including a Tumblr account that was shut down and a subsequent profile titled “CharlestonChurchMiracle.”
At one point, she and an associate flew to Denver to visit Columbine High School, and she also corresponded with Roof, attempting to send him Nazi literature.
In August, undercover FBI agents and confidential sources established contact with Lecron, who said she planned to commit an “upscale mass murder” at a Toledo bar.
“She stated she knew the bar only had two ways in or out, which could be a tactical advantage when police arrived,” the Justice Department said.
Lecron went on to say she wanted to meet other anarchists to form a team to attack a farm that raises pigs or cows.
In September, Lecron told undercover FBI agents she had begun to make a pipe bomb and planned to target the place where she worked because she believed they were polluting the river behind the plant.
Lecron had discussions with an undercover agent regarding a pipeline bombing and agreed to buy black powder on Dec. 4. She was arrested on Saturday after purchasing two pounds of muzzleloading propellant and 665 screws from stores in Rossford and Perrysburg and delivering them to an undercover law enforcement source.
