SANTA MONICA—On Wednesday, August 11, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Mark Steven Domingo, 28, of Reseda, was found guilty of providing material support to terrorism and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.
Domingo was convicted of conspiracy that targeted several locations in Southern California including the Santa Monica Pier, Long Beach, and Huntington Beach. He has been in federal custody since his arrest in April 2019, and faces a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.
The investigation into Domingo was prompted by his online conversations and posts 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 churches, Jewish people, and police officers, Domingo decided to bomb a rally that was scheduled to take place in Long Beach in April 2019.
He asked an undercover FBI agent, who was disguised as a confederate, to invite a bomb maker into the scheme. Domingo purchased and provided to the bomb-maker, who was an undercover law enforcement officer, hundreds of 3½-inch nails to be used as shrapnel for the bombs. Those nails were specifically chosen by Domingo because they were long enough to penetrate organs in the human body.
He selected the Long Beach rally as his target and in April 2019, and drove the undercover officer and his confederate to Long Beach to scout the location he planned to attack. On April 26, 2019, Domingo received what he thought were bombs, but were actually two inert explosive devices delivered by an undercover officer. He was arrested later that day.
This case is the product of an investigation conducted by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
