LOS ANGELES (CNS) - An Army veteran from Reseda was sentenced today to 25 years behind bars for attempting to bomb a Long Beach political rally.
Mark Domingo, 28, was found guilty in August in Los Angeles federal court of providing material support to terrorism and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.
U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson sentenced Domingo to 15 years imprisonment on the providing material support count and 25 years in federal prison for the attempted use count -- both sentences to be served concurrently.
The court also ordered Domingo to be placed on supervised release for a term of 20 years once he completes his prison sentence.
Domingo has been in federal custody since his arrest in April 2019.
The investigation into Domingo was prompted by his online posts and conversations in an online forum in which he expressed support for violent jihad, a desire to seek retribution for attacks against Muslims and a willingness to become a martyr.
After considering various attacks -- including targeting Jewish people, churches and police officers -- Domingo decided to bomb a rally scheduled to take place in Long Beach in April 2019.
In sentencing papers, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles wrote that evidence at trial -- including Domingo's own sworn testimony -- revealed that “he was intent on killing innocent Americans and would have done so had he not been stopped. He intended to commit mass murder to vent his own anger at the world, to avenge the shooting of Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, and to sow civil unrest that would weaken America's ability to fight ISIS and other Jihadist groups.”
Domingo “repeatedly expressed his desire to kill various groups of Americans: police officers, Jews, Christians, military personnel, and ultimately, attendees at a political rally in Long Beach,” according to prosecutors. “He admitted on the stand that he led and fully intended to carry out a plot to detonate bombs at that rally to commit mass murder. Had he not been stopped, he planned to commit further terrorist attacks to kill more innocent people and attempt to divide and weaken the United States.”
As part of the plot, Domingo asked an accomplice -- who actually was working with the FBI as part of the investigation -- to invite a bomb-maker into the scheme.
Domingo then purchased and provided to the accomplice and the bomb- maker -- who was an undercover law enforcement officer -- several hundred 3 1/2- inch nails to be used as shrapnel for the bombs. Domingo specifically chose those nails because they were long enough to penetrate organs in the human body.
Leading up to the attack, Domingo called for another event similar to the October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas. Following an attack on Muslims in New Zealand in March 2019, Domingo called for retribution in an online post.
Domingo selected the Long Beach rally as his target and, in April 2019, drove his accomplice and the undercover officer to Long Beach to scout the location he planned to attack.
While there, Domingo discussed finding the most crowded areas so he could kill the most people. On April 26, 2019, Domingo received what he thought were two live bombs, but were actually inert explosive devices delivered by an undercover law enforcement officer. He was arrested that same day with one of the bombs in his hands.
“This defendant planned a mass-casualty terrorist attack and repeatedly admitted at trial that he had a desire to kill as many people as possible,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison. “Had this bombing been successful, many innocent people would have been murdered, yet this defendant has shown no remorse for his conduct, nor has he renounced the extremist ideology that motivated his horrific plot.”