Woman Accused in 'Upscale Mass Murder' Plot Was Dylann Roof Pen Pal

A woman planning an "upscale mass murder" reached out to Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof before she was arrested Saturday in one of two terror plots near Toledo, Ohio, according to the FBI. "So I guess I'll talk to you when the deed is done? I'm very excited," Elizabeth Lecron allegedly told an FBI source after purchasing bomb-making materials on Saturday, including black powder and 665 screws up to 3 inches long, per the Washington Post. Charged with transporting explosives and explosive material for the purposes of harming others, the 23-year-old allegedly told the source in August that she was planning an attack on a Toledo bar, naming her workplace and a livestock farm as alternative targets. A month earlier, Lecron wrote to Roof, becoming one of only four people to receive a response from the man who killed nine black parishioners in 2015, per NBC 24.

Lecron—who praised the self-described white supremacist, as well as school shooters on Tumblr profile "CharlestonChurchMiracle"—tried to oblige Roof's request to "mail him several books about civil uprisings and the Nazis," authorities say, per CBS News; NBC 24 reports "care packages and books" were sent. Lecron, who is also said to have visited Columbine High School, "demonstrated that she was committed to seeing death and destruction in order to advance hate," says US Attorney Justin E. Herdman. In a separate case, authorities arrested 21-year-old Damon Joseph, an alleged ISIS recruit accused of plotting to target two Toledo-area synagogues. "My opinion is the Jews are evil and they get what's coming to them," he allegedly told an undercover FBI agent, per CBS. Per Reuters, authorities say Joseph also accepted AR-15 rifles he believed were intended for the attack. (Roof's sister was arrested earlier this year.)