The woman who responded to the ad agreed to an in-person meeting with Layman, who was using a fake name. At this meeting, Layman divulged a different purpose for the trip—claiming to be from Israeli intelligence, she told the woman that she wanted to have an ISIS operative killed. Using a laptop she brought to the meeting, Layman showed her an entire presentation containing instructions on what she was being asked to do, what she should pack, how she would travel to Israel, where she would stay once she got there, and how she should communicate. Layman also showed her a package that she claimed contained ricin.

According to Oklahoma City Assistant Special Agent in Charge Raul Bujanda, who oversaw the FBI’s investigation, “The woman answering the ad left the meeting with Layman—after taking pictures of what she was shown—and immediately reached out to a lawyer friend for advice on what to do. She was very concerned about what Layman had asked her to do.”

The lawyer advised contacting the FBI, which the woman did. Said Bujanda, “She called the Bureau’s Public Access Line on May 9, 2017, the same day as her meeting with Layman. And the Oklahoma City FBI office opened an investigation shortly afterward.”

After conducting a number of interviews and taking other investigative steps, the Bureau was able to quickly verify the woman’s story, uncover the real identity of the person she had met with, determine that the target of the plot was actually the plotter’s ex-husband, and obtain proof that Layman was the one who had placed the online ad. “In addition,” said Bujanda, “we were able to determine that Layman was in a custody dispute with her ex-husband, and that during a recent trip Layman had taken to Israel with her children, the man had filed a court suit demanding visitation rights.”