San Fernando Valley man convicted of terrorist attack bombing a rally to cause mass casualties in Long Beach, California

Mark Steven Domingo, 28, of Reseda was convicted of material support for terrorism and of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

As a result of today’s convictions, Domingo faces a maximum statutory sentence of life imprisonment in federal prison. Domingo, who has been in federal custody since his arrest in April 2019, is due to be sentenced by US District Judge Stephen V. Wilson on November 1st.

The investigation into Domingo was driven by his online posts and conversations in an online forum in which he expressed his support for violent jihad, his desire for retaliation for attacks on Muslims and his willingness to be martyred. After Domingo considered various attacks – including against Jews, churches and police officers – Domingo decided to bomb a rally due to take place in Long Beach in April 2019.

As part of the plot, Domingo asked a Confederate – who was actually working with the FBI on the investigation – to invite a bomb maker into the scheme. Domingo then bought several hundred 3½-inch nails and made them available to the Confederates and the bomb maker – who was actually an undercover police officer – to use as shrapnel for the bombs. Domingo specifically selected these nails because they were long enough to penetrate the organs of the human body.

In the run-up to the attack, Domingo called for another event similar to the October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas. After an attack on Muslims in New Zealand in March 2019, Domingo called for retaliation in an online post.

Domingo chose the Long Beach Rally as his target and in April 2019 drove his ally and the undercover officer to Long Beach to scout the location where he was about to attack. There Domingo discussed finding the most crowded areas so that he could kill the most people. On April 26, 2019, Domingo received what he thought were two live bombs, but which were inert explosive devices delivered by an undercover police officer. He was arrested the same day with one of the bombs in hand.

This matter is the result of an investigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. JTTF members who participated in the investigation include the FBI, the Los Angeles Police Department, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Long Beach Police Department.

This case is being prosecuted by US associate attorneys Reema M. El-Amamy and David T. Ryan of the Department of Terrorism and Export Crime, and trial lawyers Lauren Goddard and Joshua Champagne of the Department of Justice’s counterterrorism department.

Source: DOJ Approval