ByNick Krueger|November 21, 2019 at 4:46 AM EST - Updated November 21 at 5:39 AM
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - An Ohio woman who helped plan two domestic terrorist attacks and wrote to Emanuel AME church shooter Dylann Roof was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday during a federal court hearing.
Elizabeth Lecron, 24, will also have lifetime supervision after she is released. Authorities say she planned an attack on Toledo, Ohio with the intent to commit mass murder.
Her live-in boyfriend, Vincent Armstrong, has pleaded guilty as a co-conspirator and will be sentenced in December. Attorneys say the pair referred to their planned attack as “D-Day” and discussed using bombs and guns to kill, maim, and injure innocent people.
According to an initial affidavit, Lecron’s Tumblr account was shut down because of offensive content, but she started a new profile named “CharlestonChurchMiracle” where she continued to post photos and comments about mass casualty attacks.
In 2018, federal investigators say they bought guns and went to a shooting range. They also printed instructions to make pipe bombs and bought some of the necessary components. They detailed their plan and feelings in personal journals.
“This defendant was deadly serious about plotting for an attack on Toledo and an interstate pipeline,” United States Attorney Justin Herdman said. “She stands convicted of a terrorism offense and will spend the next fifteen years in a federal prison. When she is released, she will spend the rest of her life under intense supervision by a federal court. Today’s sentence reflects the severity of her conduct and is a recognition of the continued efforts by law enforcement to protect the public from all violent threats.”
On Dec. 8, 2018, Lecron purchased two pounds of black powder and hundreds of screws intending that they be used in a bombing of a pipeline in Georgia.
Authorities say Lecron and her boyfriend also joined an online group that fixated and idolized mass murders. They also took a trip in August 2018 to Columbine High School to pay tribute to the shooters.
“The investigation, prosecution, and her sentence demonstrates the importance of the continued partnership between the public and law enforcement, as well as a strong US Attorney’s Office willing to pursue warranted charges that will keep dangerous people like Elizabeth Lecron under law enforcement’s watchful eye," FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric B. Smith said. "It should also serve as a reminder to others that law enforcement will pursue criminals bent on attacking fellow citizens with every tool at our disposal.”
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