UPDATE: Would-Be Terrorist in Los Angeles Was Islamic Convert, Vowed Retribution for New Zealand Attack
Peter D'Abrosca
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Than would-be terrorist whose plan law enforcement foiled on Monday was a convert to Islam and vowed retribution for the New Zealand mosque attacks, according to multiple reports.
“Mark Steven Domingo, 26, of Reseda, a former infantryman who served in Afghanistan, was arrested Friday after receiving what he thought was a bomb but was actually an inert device supplied to him by an undercover law enforcement officer, federal officials said,” according to Mercury News.Â
The report said that Domingo was a convert to Islam – as recently as late 2018 or early 2019, according to his brother – and wanted retribution for the terror attack on a New Zealand mosque, committed by a white supremacist.
An FBI affidavit filed in a Los Angeles federal court said Domingo planned “to manufacture and use a weapon of mass destruction in order to commit mass murder.”
The affidavit continued:
“On April 23 and 24, 2019, Domingo purchased several hundred nails to be used as shrapnel inside an explosive device, and provided the nails to a person whom Domingo believed to be a collaborator, but who was in fact an undercover law enforcement officer working for the FBI, for the purpose of having the (officer) manufacture weapons of mass destruction for Domingo to use in an upcoming attack.”
Domingo also reportedly spoke online with undercover law enforcement officers expressing his desire to commit terrorist attacks.
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia praised the work of law enforcement.
“We take every threat seriously and I’m incredibly thankful for the work of the Long Beach Police Department and our law enforcement partners, especially the Los Angeles Police Department and the FBI,” he said.
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