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Idaho man sentenced to 18 years for plotting attack on Coeur d'Alene churches for ISIS

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 4 outlets, mostly right-leaning (75%).

4 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

According to the Associated Press, a federal judge sentenced Alexander Scott Mercurio, 21, to 18 years in federal prison on Tuesday, followed by lifetime supervised release. Prosecutors said Mercurio pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and planned to attack churches in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, using explosives, knives and firearms. The FBI arrested him on April 6, 2024, one day before the planned attack. He pleaded guilty last month to attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. The Daily Wire reports that his lawyers had asked for nine years, arguing he had abandoned radical Islam and came from a dysfunctional family.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Alexander Scott Mercurio, 21, was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervised release.

    Reported byLeft1Right2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    ABC News
    Right
    Daily Mail, New York Post
    Far Right
    The Daily Wire

  2. Prosecutors said Mercurio pledged allegiance to the Islamic State and planned to attack churches in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

    Reported byLeft1Right2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    ABC News
    Right
    Daily Mail, New York Post
    Far Right
    The Daily Wire

  3. Prosecutors said the FBI arrested Mercurio on April 6, 2024, one day before the planned attack.

    Reported byLeft1Right2Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    ABC News
    Right
    Daily Mail, New York Post
    Far Right
    The Daily Wire

  4. Mercurio pleaded guilty last month to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

    Reported byLeft1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    ABC News
    Right
    New York Post
    Far Right
    The Daily Wire

  5. Mercurio's lawyers asked for a nine-year sentence, arguing that he had abandoned radical Islam and was destabilized by a dysfunctional family.

    One outletThe Daily Wire· Far Right

  6. According to the US Attorney's Office and a criminal complaint, the plot included a plan to incapacitate his father with a metal pipe and steal his guns.

    One outletDaily Mail· Right

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that Alexander Scott Mercurio, 21, was sentenced to 18 years for plotting an attack on churches in Coeur d'Alene in support of ISIS. The left-side account, an AP report, is plain and attributes the charges to prosecutors, while right-side outlets use stronger labels such as terrorist and jihadist.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    ABC News runs an Associated Press report whose headline states the 18-year sentence and the Islamic State support plot in plain terms, with no judgement words.

    An Idaho man gets 18 years in prison for an Islamic State support plot
    ABC NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    3 outlets

    Right-side headlines lead with the ISIS tie and the church targets; the Daily Mail calls him a terrorist and the Daily Wire uses slang such as headed to the slammer.

    Idaho ISIS terrorist, 21, imprisoned for 18 years for plotting mass shooting in local churches
    Daily MailRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right1

    Shoot Up

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    Shoot UpMore neutral: Attack

    Informal phrasing dramatizes a plot that was not carried out.

    American Man Headed To The Slammer For Conspiring To Shoot Up Churches For ISIS

    Used byThe Daily Wire (Far Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

1 outlet

Leads with

  • the 18-year sentence
  • support for the Islamic State
  • pledge of allegiance to IS

Leaves out

  • remarks by the Idaho U.S. Attorney on bringing terrorists to justice

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • ABC NewsLeftAssociated Press report

    An Idaho man gets 18 years in prison for an Islamic State support plot

    An Idaho man has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for attempting to support the Islamic State group

    Read at ABC News (opens in a new tab)

    Also published by New York Post. It counts once.

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

3 outlets

Leads with

  • ISIS links
  • planned attacks on churches
  • 18-year sentence
  • terrorist label
See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • Daily MailRight

    Idaho ISIS terrorist, 21, imprisoned for 18 years for plotting mass shooting in local churches

    The terrorist had planned to incapacitate his father with a metal pipe, handcuff him and steal his guns to commit mass shootings at every church in his city before detonating a home-made bomb vest.

    Read at Daily Mail (opens in a new tab)
  • The Daily WireFar Right

    American Man Headed To The Slammer For Conspiring To Loaded verb“Shoot Up”Informal phrasing dramatizes a plot that was not carried out.More neutral: AttackDisagree with this highlight? Churches For ISIS

    A 21-year-old man will spend nearly two decades in prison for plotting an ISIS-inspired “martyrdom operation” targeting Christian churches. U.S. …

    Read at The Daily Wire (opens in a new tab)
  • New York PostRightAssociated Press report

    Idaho ISIS wannabe Alexander Scott Mercurio jailed for 18 years over plot to massacre churchgoers

    New York Post published a report that is shown in full at ABC News. The headline is the one New York Post gave it.

    Read at New York Post (opens in a new tab)

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    ABC News, Nov 10, 8:42 PM EST

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    10 hr 6 min later

    Its first report, Nov 11, 6:48 AM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. ABC NewsLeftNov 10, 8:42 PM EST
  2. New York PostRightNov 11, 6:48 AM EST
  3. The Daily WireFar RightNov 11, 10:26 AM EST
  4. Daily MailRightNov 11, 2:23 PM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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