Federal authorities foiled a terror plot Monday targeting numerous locations throughout the Los Angeles area.
According to a federal affidavit, Army veteran Mark Domingo, 26, was allegedly plotting the terror attack as retaliation for the New Zealand mosques shootings in March. Domingo had also posted on social media stating that there needed to be another massacre akin to the October 2017 Las Vegas shooting and expressed support for ISIS.
Per the affidavit, Domingo considered targeting “Jews, churches, and police officers” as well as military personnel. Among the locations he considered were the Santa Monica Pier and an LA freeway. Domingo eventually decided to detonate IEDs at an April 28 white nationalist rally in Long Beach. Domingo didn’t expect to survive the attack and told an FBI informant posing as Domingo’s co-conspirator that if he survived his first planned attack, he would then target the Port of Long Beach in an effort to harm the United States economy.
When Domingo purchased what he “thought were completed IEDs” from an undercover FBI agent, federal agents arrested him.
“Law enforcement was able to identify a man consumed with hate and bent on mass murder and stop him before he was able to carry out his attack,” United States Attorney Nicola Hanna said at a news conference Monday. “All of these plans were related to Mr. Domingo’s stated belief in violent jihad and that Americans should pay for attacks on Muslims around the world.”
The thwarted terror attack comes just two days after the shooting at the Chabad of Poway that killed Lori Gilbert-Kaye, 60, and injured three others. The incident has sparked discussions about the need for heightened security at places of worship.
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