After a rally against white supremacy at Bluff Park, federal officials revealed they stopped a terrorist attack planned for Sunday.
According to the official criminal complaint, U.S. Army Veteran and ISIS convert, Mike Domingo “took steps to manufacture and use a weapon of mass destruction in order to commit mass murder.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation was in constant communication with Domingo to track his activity and detained him before the attack.
Domingo planned to attack the march in response to the terror attack in New Zealand that targeted a mosque. In an online conversation with an undercover FBI agent, Domingo said “I feel like I should make a Christian’s life miserable tomorrow for our fallen bros n sis [sic] in New Zealand… maybe a Jew’s life idk.”
Domingo considered attacking places of worship or military bases but ultimately settled on a political rally, whose organizers had ties to white supremacy and far-right ideologies. The original march was canceled, but counter-protesters still gathered.
Domingo purchased 3-inch nails to use in a bomb, specifically because the nails would be long enough to “penetrate the human body and puncture internal organs,” if used as shrapnel.
If successful, Domingo also planned to bomb other targets including the Long Beach Port.
LBSU junior and English literature major Diego Torrortegu said he was surprised that an attack was planned.
“I think that it’s really horrifying that it can happen so close to home,” he said. Bluff Park is less than three miles from Long Beach State.
Torrortegu praised the FBI for their prevention of the attack but remained unsettled that it was planned at all.
Mayor Robert Garcia commented on Twitter Monday about the planned attack.
“The arrest of this suspect took a highly dangerous person off the street who wanted to cause enormous harm to Long Beach and our community,” Garcia tweeted.
Garcia thanked the various law enforcement agencies in charge of preventing the attack including the LAPD and the FBI.