Evie Fordham on April 29, 2019
A California man has been charged for allegedly planning a terrorist plot after an undercover operation by law enforcement officials, authorities announced at a press conference Monday.
Mark Steven Domingo, 26, is an Army veteran who expressed sympathy with ISIS and wanted to attack multiple locations in southern California, reported the Los Angeles Times. He wanted vengeance after the Christchurch, New Zealand, mosque shootings in March, according to an unsealed indictment.
Domingo was apprehended by law enforcement Friday night after a sting operation that culminated in a delivery of what he thought was a real bomb — by an undercover agent.
A federal affidavit quoted by the LA Times read:
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 had deployed to Afghanistan as an Army infantryman for four months in 2013, reported NBC News.
News of the foiled plot comes three worshipers were injured and one woman was killed at a synagogue in San Diego, California, during a shooting Saturday.
