US army vet accused of plotting terror attacks on Nazis, Jews in California

Officials say former infantryman Mark Domingo, a convert to Islam, planned to bomb a white supremacist rally in revenge for New Zealand mosque attacks; also sought Jewish targets

By AP and TOI STAFF29 April 2019, 11:39 pm  0
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Illustrative: A white supremacist carrying a Nazi flag into Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, Virginia, August 12, 2017. (AP/Steve Helber/ File)

Illustrative: A white supremacist carrying a Nazi flag into Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, Virginia, August 12, 2017. (AP/Steve Helber/ File)

LOS ANGELES, California — A terror plot by an Army veteran who converted to Islam and planned to bomb a white supremacist rally in Southern California as retribution for the New Zealand mosque attacks was thwarted, federal prosecutors said Monday.

Mark Domingo, 26, an infantryman who served a combat stint in Afghanistan, was arrested by federal agents Friday, while finalizing plans to plant a bomb at a Nazi rally that had been scheduled on Sunday in Long Beach.

Court papers show that Domingo discussed with an informant different types of attacks that included targeting Jews, churches and police officers.

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Domingo was arrested on a charge of providing material support to terrorists and a criminal complaint said he had been planning since March to “manufacture and use a weapon of mass destruction in order to commit mass murder.”

Domingo allegedly said he wanted revenge for attacks on mosques in New Zealand that killed 50 people last month.

According to prosecutors cited by NBC News, Domingo wrote on a private online group in March that “there must be retribution” for the mosque shootings.

“I feel like I should make a christians life miserable tomorrow for our fallen bros n sis in [N]ew Zealand…maybe a jews life…they shed our blood…no Muslim should have to experience this, a message needs to be sent.”

Domingo allegedly bought parts from an FBI informant, including nails, for an improvised explosive device that would be remotely triggered, but in fact contained inert materials.

When asked if he planned to get caught, he answered “Martyrdom, bro,” according to NBC, quoting from the indictment.

If they survived the planned bombing at Bluff Park, Domingo discussed launching further attacks on the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles or on a train.

White nationalists never showed up to the planned event in Bluff Park, but a large group of counterprotesters demonstrated.

The news came two days after an anti-Semitic shooting attack on a California synagogue which claimed the life of a female congregant and injured three others, including a young girls and the synagogue’s rabbi.

A manifesto seemingly posted by the shooter before the attack lists the New Zealand shooting, carried out by a white supremacist, as an inspiration.

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