U.S. arrests man suspected of planning terrorist act in California

COURTESY OF FBI

The suspect terrorist Mark Steve Domingo was arrested Friday.

A Filipino American veteran was arrested for plotting to explode a bomb in retaliation for the mass killings at New Zealand mosques.

Mark Steven Domingo, 26, of Reseda, California, was arrested Friday (April 28) night after driving to Long Beach, Calif. to plant what he believed was a live bomb.

The bomb was an inert explosive device that was delivered to Domingo by an undercover law enforcement officer as part of an investigation by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.

“Domingo, a former U.S. Army Infantryman, wanted to use improvised explosive devices against innocent civilians and he selected components that would make the bombs even more deadly to the victims he targeted,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers.

At a Monday (April 29) hearing, Judge Paul Abrams ordered Domingo to be held in prison without bail while he awaits trial, saying he posts a significant risk to the safety of the public. Domingo will next appear in court on May 31 to enter his plea. 

Domingo, who served in Afghanistan, faces federal charges in a terrorist plot in which he planned to detonate an improvised explosive device (IED) for the purpose of causing mass casualties. If found guilty, he could face 15 years in federal prison.

A DOJ spokesperson confirmed to ABS-CBN News that Domingo is of Filipino descent.

According to a 30-page court documents, since early March, Domingo “planned and took steps to manufacture and use a weapon of mass destruction in order to commit mass murder.”

In online posts and in conversations with an FBI source, Domingo expressed support for violent jihad, a desire to seek retribution for attacks against Muslims, and a willingness to become a martyr, according to the affidavit. 

As part of the plot, Domingo asked his confederate – who actually was cooperating with the FBI as part of the investigation – to find a bomb-maker, and Domingo last week purchased several hundred nails to be used as shrapnel inside the IED.

“Domingo said he specifically bought three-inch nails because they would be long enough to penetrate the human body and puncture internal organs,” the affidavit states.

After Domingo provided the nails to the undercover operative for use in the construction of the bomb, Domingo sent a message on Thursday indicating that the operation was to proceed, according to the affidavit. On Friday evening, the undercover operative delivered multiple inert devices, which Domingo believed were weapons of mass destruction. 

After inspecting the devices he traveled to a park in Long Beach to surveil the park where a white nationalist rally that was supposed to take place the next day. That is when Domingo was taken into custody. Because of wide spread publicity, a massive counter-rally was planned in opposition to the white nationalist rally which never materialized.

According to the criminal complaint, Domingo posted an online video professing his Muslim faith on March 2, and the next day made another posting in which he said “America needs another Vegas event” (referring to the October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada) that would give “them a taste of the terror they gladly spread all over the world.” Following an attack on a mosque in New Zealand on March 13, Domingo posted, “there must be retribution.”

In response to the postings, an FBI “confidential human source” (CHS) began an online conversation that resulted in a series of in-person meetings with Domingo. During the first meeting, on March 18, “Domingo discussed with the source different targets for an attack, including Jews, police officers, churches, and a military facility,” according to the affidavit.

During subsequent meetings outlined in the affidavit, Domingo continued to express his desire to commit a terrorist act, at points contemplating a drive-by shooting with a modified AK-47-style rifle he owned, and at other points considering the use of an IED. 

The plan to target the white nationalist rally came into shape during an April 19 meeting, when Domingo arrived to a meeting with the cooperating source armed with an AK-47-style rifle “to show you that I’m serious,” according to the complaint. During that meeting, Domingo referenced the Boston Marathon bombing and asked the source to find a person to construct an IED that he said could cause 50 casualties.

Domingo's younger sibling James, said his brother converted to Islam late last year and attended a nearby mosque.

James Domingo said he and his older brother lived with an aunt and grandmother at the Reseda residence. He said his family are taken by surprise by the charges against his brother. 

“The whole thing is surprising to the Domingo family and all the relatives,” he said as he stood outside his Reseda house, talking with reporters. “We complied and they (the FBI) came in and searched the house.”

James Domingo said he would “wait for the evidence to be laid out on the table” before making any conclusions.

“I hope this dies down eventually and hopefully my brother will be found innocent of this,” he said.

If convicted of the charge of providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists, Domingo would face a statutory maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.

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New York subway bomber suspect charged with terrorist act

FEDERAL OFFICIALS have charged the man who attempted to bomb New York subway commuters for his alleged act of terrorism.

Akayed Ullah, 27, of Brooklyn, New York, and a permanent resident from Bangladesh, has been charged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in connection with Ullah’s attempted detonation of a bomb in a subway terminal near the New York Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City on Dec. 11. At least three people were injured as a result of what appears to be a botched detonation.

Akayed Ullah

"The Department of Justice is relentless in taking on the terrorist threat," said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. "In my time back at the Department, nothing has impressed me more.

"Since 9/11, the Department has convicted more than 500 criminals of terrorism-related offenses, and the FBI has open terrorism investigations in every state."  

“Yesterday, in the heart of rush hour, as thousands came into New York City through the Port Authority Bus Terminal, Akayed Ullah allegedly came with a hate-filled heart and an evil purpose: to murder as many innocent people as he could and blow himself up in the process, all in support of the vicious terrorist cause of ISIS,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim.

The suspected terrorist, who came to this country in 2011, was apparently radicalized by internet sites espousing radicalism, say law enforcement officials.

Ullah's homemade pipe bomb, which was attached to his clothing with Velcro and twist ties, malfunctioned seriously injuring Ullah and slightly three nearby commuters.

Ullah lived with his father, mother and brother in a Brooklyn neighborhood with a large Bangladeshi community. His wife still lives in Bangladesh.

“Although yesterday he allegedly stood in the tunnels under Port Authority plotting to kill, today he stands charged with federal crimes of terrorism.  Those alleged terrorists who target New York City do so because they feel threatened by the strength of our spirit, the height of our ambition and the breadth of our freedom.  They come seeking to sow hate, fear and terror.  But in New York City, they find instead strength, resilience and hope.  Like many before him, Akayed Ullah will also find another great American virtue: justice.  That justice will be tough, it will be fair and it will be swift.”

“The act of terror committed in New York City yesterday accomplished nothing,” said NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill.  “It has not changed our way of life. It was a cowardly act, fueled by a false sense of purpose — motivated by propaganda in the shadows of the internet.  What is clear is the resolve of New Yorkers to live in a free society, devoid of fear."