An accused aspiring jihadist martyr was arrested in California Friday and has been charged with planning to detonate an improvised explosive device (IED) to cause mass casualties.
Mark Steven Domingo, 26, allegedly posted a video on March 2 professing his Muslim faith and calling for another event like the October 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting. Domingo was arrested Friday and scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
An affidavit stated Domingo “planned and took steps to manufacture and use a weapon of mass destruction in order to commit mass murder.”
In the March 2 video, according to the affidavit, Domingo said, “America needs another Vegas event” and that he would give “them a taste of the terror they gladly spread all over the world.”
After the March 13 terror attack in New Zealand he wrote, “there must be retribution.” The FBI confidential human source (CHS) then engaged in online conversations with Domingo. The two met on March 18, the document states, “Domingo discussed with the CHS different targets for an attack, including Jews, police officers, churches, and a military facility.”
Domingo made online posts and carried on conversations with an FBI source in which he “expressed support for violent jihad, a desire to seek retribution for attacks against Muslims, and a willingness to become a martyr,” according to an FBI statement that cited the affidavit.
The FBI release detailed Domingo’s activities, citing the affidavit:
After considering various attacks – including targeting Jews, churches, and police officers – Domingo decided to detonate an IED at a rally scheduled to take place in Long Beach this past weekend. As part of the plot, Domingo asked his confederate – who actually was cooperating with the FBI as part of the investigation – to find a bomb-maker, and Domingo last week purchased several hundred nails to be used as shrapnel inside the IED.
“Domingo said he specifically bought three-inch nails because they would be long enough to penetrate the human body and puncture internal organs,” the affidavit detailed. It stated that last Thursday Domingo told the undercover operative to proceed with the plan, and on Friday Domingo was given “inert” devices, which he then took them to the site he planned to attack in Long Beach. It was there and then he was arrested.
“I’m extremely glad to be announcing that we interdicted a potential terrorist attack, rather than outlining the FBI’s response to yet another tragedy,” said Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office Paul Delacourt. “At no time was the public in danger and there is currently no known threat to public safety.”
“This investigation successfully disrupted a very real threat posed by a trained combat soldier who repeatedly stated he wanted to cause the maximum number of casualties,” said U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna.
Domingo is “a former U.S. Army infantryman with combat experience in Afghanistan,” according to the FBI. He is facing “federal charges in a terrorist plot in which he planned to detonate an improvised explosive device (IED) for the purpose of causing mass casualties.”
Michelle Moons is a White House Correspondent for Breitbart News — follow on Twitter @MichelleDiana and Facebook
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